Lucky XIII
by Heartless Shinra Alchemist
Summary: What happens when your parents die and you and your best friend end up living with the members of Organization XIII? And hey...where is Xemnas, anyway?
1. SeaSalt Ice Cream

Lucky XIII: Chapter I

'Sea-Salt Ice Cream"

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or sea salt ice cream, or Tokyo, or any other thing I mentioned. Kyle and Kagura came from my imagination, but Kyle is loosely based on my friend Kyle Fellman (Sorry, Kyle!) and Kagura is kind of based off Kagura from Fruits Basket. But just barely. I don't own Fruits Basket either! Thanks.

Hey, Kagura, wait up!" Kagura turned to see her best friend, an exchange student from America called Kyle, running to catch up with her. She stopped as Kyle tripped over his own feet and fell flat onto the pavement in front of her. Blood streamed from his nose and was washed into the storm sewers by the pounding rain that was falling. She laughed and helped him to his feet. He tried smiling, but blood began to stream into his mouth.

"Maybe we should get you to the school nurse..." Kagura laughed. Kyle shook his head.

"Nah, we Americans came up with a cure for nosebleeds," he tilted his head backwards and pinched the bridge of his nose. Kagura shook her head in amusement when she noticed that there was blood caked in his blonde hair.

"You need a bath, too," she giggled as Kyle's brown eyes glared at her.

"Let's just get to school," he muttered in a nasal tone.

Kagura and Kyle's school was very different. Although is was in Tokyo, most of the students were Foreign Exchange. In fact, being Japanese was a minority here, and all classes were taught in English instead of Japanese. Kagura and Kyle's first class was English, Kyle's native langugae and Kagura's worst subject. She couldn't imagine how anyone could learn a language that had so many rules with so many exceptions. It seemed to her that whoever came up with this language couldn't make up their mind. She was thinking this while doodling on a piece of paper in the middle of class when Kyle whacked her in the back of her head with his notebook. "Whatcha drawin'?" he whispered. Kagura silently handed him her scetchbook. She heard him mutter something. He poked her back, making her turn to look at him. He had his pencil in his hand and was pointing it at the drawing. "You mind?" he asked innocently. Kagura shook her head. After about three minutes of the sound of his pencil scratching and the teacher's endless droning about pronouns, he handed her scetchbook back. Kagura gasped when she saw what he had added on to her picture. Before, it was a girl sitting on a balcony with a cat sitting on her lap. Kyle had drawn in a pair of snow-white wings and a crecent moon locket hanging on her neck.

"Kyle..." she whispered. Sometimes he did really amazing stuff that completely surprised her. She shook her head and laughed softly. "Thanks...I think." She heard him chuckle softly.

"Hey, no problemo, chicka!" Kyle whispered joyfully. Kugura rolled her eyes and continued to draw.

Kagura groaned as she looked over her homework. She had tons from English, but Kyle could easily help her with that. But he really couldn't help take off her load of science and math homework. She was startled from her trance by Kyle hitting her on the head with a notebook.

"Hey, Kagura...you okay?" he inquired. His face was crinkled with worry, making Kagura laugh.

"I'm fine, really, I was just thinking about the huge amount of homework I have..." she flashed him a quick smile to show him she was okay. She looked out the window of the train and tried to make sense of the blur of colors that whirled by. Kyle was happily chattering away about a videogame that he loved. Kagura loved it too, but she was too preoccupied to really pay attention.

"...it's really easy after you get the weapon, and it's best if you use a bow if not...Hey! Are you paying attention?" Kagura turned and smiled. Kyle frowned. "You know what's your problem? It stopped raining. You love the rain and now that it has stopped, you're all sad. You know what? Why don't we go grab some sea-salt ice cream?" Kagura snorted. The train stopped and the two stepped out into the overcast streets.

"You know, you had no idea what that was until you played Kingdom Hearts II," Kagura ruffled Kyle's blonde hair. Kyle grinned.

"I know, but it really does taste good!" smiling, he grabbed her hand and dragged her down the street. Kagura followed, smiling. Kyle really acted like such a child sometimes...

By the time the two had gotten to the ice cream stand, it was beginning to rain again. "See, Kagura? You're not supposed to be sad!" Kyle laughed, dancing in the rain. Kagura snorted, but grabbed Kyle's hands and danced in the rain with him. The ice cream vendor, being quite annoyed, yelled at them to buy some ice cream or go somewhere else to dance. The two collapsed into giggles and fell onto the wet pavement, laughing and rolling around. Kagura turned to face Kyle.

"Thanks. I needed that." Kagura smiled.

"Any time. You Japanese are too serious. Learn a lesson from Americans and act silly once in a while!" he pulled himself up off the pavement and slipped a dripping hand into his pocket. Pulling out his wallet, he unzipped it carefully and grabbed a small handful of money. "Two sea salt ice creams, please." he said, sliding the handful of slightly soggy money to the vendor. Sighing, the vendor snatched the money and handed Kyle the two ice creams.

"Don't drop them!" he called after the two giggling kids. As they splashed their way out of sight, the vendor turned to the T.V. screen that was displaying a news story of a freak meteorite that had slammed and destroyed four houses. "So sad..." he muttered.

Kagura couldn't keep herself from screaming as she looked at the remains of the houses. She screamed and ran toward the wreckage, Kyle following behind her, fright in his eyes. She began to tear into the wreckage, pushing wood and glass aside, careless of the countless nicks and splinters she was getting. Kyle, whose eyes were tearing up, slowly placed his hand on her shoulder. Softly, he whispered, "The ambulance has your parents...and mine." They weren't really his parents, just his Foreign Exchange ones, but his real parents had died before. He had been an orphan before. Kagura shuddered and gave into the racking sobs and coughs. Kyle looked down on her, knowing what it was like, and then gently picked her up. It was quite difficult. "You're heavy, dammit," he swore. Kagura muttered something unintelligable, but Kyle understood. "Hell no, I'm not putting you down! You'll probably try to find your cat and get yourself killed in the process. Or haven't you noticed that you've ripped half the skin off your arms?" Kagura feebly looked down at her arms, which were covered in blood. Kyle rolled his eyes and approached the ambulance. The doctor who was looking after those who were still alive stared at Kagura curiously.

"She wasn't in the wreck," he said cautiously. Kyle shook his head.

"No she wasn't. She tried to dig her parents out," he sighed, laying her down on the pavement gently. The doctor quickly picked Kagura up.

"Is she Kagura Ichikura?" he asked, his face grim. Kyle nodded, guessing what the man was about to say. "Her parents are dead." the doctor frowned. "And you, Kyle Garan, your adoptive parents are too." Kyle's eyes darkened, but he showed no other sign of grief.

"I'll go with her to the hospital," he muttered, climbing into the ambulance and helping the doctor haul Kagura's body into a strecher.

Kagura was in the hospital for a month. Her arms had become infected and she was very sick. Fortunately, her parents had left her enough money to pay for the hospital bills. Unfortunately, she had no living relatives to speak of, so she and Kyle both landed in an orphanage with nowhere to go. At first, the two were to be separated, but Kagura had reacted so violently when she heard the news, that her doctors ordered that she and Kyle be placed in the same orphanage for the sake of her health. The orphanage was nice enough, everyone was nice and polite, there were no bullies, and they were fed, but it was horribly boring. Kagura laughed as she thought that. It sounded absolutely heartless! But she tried not to think about her parents much. She glaced from the book that she wasn't really reading to glance at Kyle, who was playing a portable videogame. (It was in his pocket on the day of the accident) Kagura leaped from her bed and flung herself onto his, startling him and obviously messing him up.

"Dammit, Kagura! I know you're bored, but still..." he sighed as she collapsed into giggles. "My being mad just makes you happier, doesn't it?" he whispered, leaning over to look at her face. Quietly, his hands slid to her sides and he began to tickle her. Kagura just glared at him. He sighed again. "I forgot, you're not ticklish anymore!" folding his arms in front of him, he stck his bottom lip out like a petulant child. Kagura smiled and hugged him.

"Guess what?" she said in a hushed but excited voice. Kyle looked at her, his lip still stuck out. She smiled and jumped off his bed, dragging him to the window. "It's raining!" Kyle grinned. Kagura grinned back.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" he whispered casually. Kagura nodded. The two of them raced down the stairs, nearly knocking over a five-year-old playing babies, and flew to the door, hands outstreched. Panting heavily, Kyle heaved, "I...think we...tied...on that...one..." Kagura nodded her agreement. The two looked to make sure no adults were around, and slipped outside. Kagura ran happily out, spinning around until she made herself so dizzy she fell over.

"You think we'll ever get adopted?" she asked Kyle, who flopped onto the grass next to her. He shrugged.

"Who's to say? Maybe we'll be adopted today, maybe we'll have to wait another two years until we turn eighteen. Does it matter?" he pulled Kagura up and grabbed her hands. "C'mon, let's dance!" the two of them flew around, flinging water every which way. The two of them were on the ground, giggling, when an all-too familiar voice laughed along with them.

"Would ya look at that, Larxene? Two orphans who snuck out of the building." Kagura stopped laughing, her eyes wide.

_I must be dreaming...I have to be..._ she thought, staring at the two people standing before her. They were wearing normal enough clothes, but their appearance was strange, to say the least. The man was quite tall, skinny, and had hair red as flames that stuck out in spikes down his back. His eyes were emerald green and there were two purple tatoos under them. The woman had sleek blonde hair with two locks on either side that stuck up and curved to the back of her head. She had vibrant blue eyes and a taunting smile.

Standing before Kagura and Kyle were either the world's best cosplayers, or Larxene and Axel, numbers twelve and eight in Organization XIII.


	2. Pain In The Asphault

Lucky XIII: Chapter II:

'Pain in the Asphault'

The blonde woman frowned. "Hey, what're you staring at?" She glanced down on her clothes, then whirled to face the red-haired man. "I _told _you we should have brought an umbrella!" she sighed deliberately, then turned to the shocked Kagura and Kyle. "Hey, is this the orphanage? We've come to pick up a couple of kids that we've just adopted," she asked the two. Kyle recovered first.

"Uh...yes, ma'am. Would you like me to walk you in?" he asked politely. The woman beamed.

"Why of course...what is your name?" she frowned slightly.

"Oh!" Kyle said. "That was really rude of me. My name is Kyle. The girl beside me is Kagura," he pointed to Kagura, who nodded. The blonde woman looked curiously at the red-haired man, who shrugged and began to walk into the orphanage.

"I am Larxene and that idiot over there is Axel." she walked over to Kyle and flashed him a brilliant smile. "Don't mind him," she whispered to Kagura, "he's just upset that I don't like the rain. He's a psycho, goes out and runs around in the rain every chance he gets." She rolled her eyes and grabbed Kagura's and Kyle's hands and the three of them walked into the orphanage.

They walked into the orphanage to find the man talking quietly with the administrator. When they walked in, the administrator rolled her eyes and sighed. "You really shouldn't have adopted those two. They've been a problem, with their sneaking out and all that." Kyle glanced at Kagura.

"Did she just say-" the administrator broke him off.

"Well, don't just stand there, pack your things! And get some decent clothes on, for heaven's sake!" the administrator waved the two up the stairs, flapping her hands like she was trying to wave off a bad smell. Sighing, she turned to the man and the woman. "You're in for a load of trouble, you are!" she declared. The man grinned impishly.

"Ma'am, we are a load of trouble. And just wait until you meet our roommates!". At this, the woman cackled.

Kagura and Kyle raced up the stairs. When they got to the room that they shared with four other children, they collapsed onto their beds in a heap.

"I can't believe it..." Kagura whispered. "We're being adopted by Axel and Larxene from Kingdom Hearts!" Kyle nodded, his eyes wide.

"I'm dreaming! I gotta be!" he murmered. Shaking his mop of wet blonde hair, he pulled himself from his bed. He took out the suitcase that all the orphans are given when they arrive for the day when they leave. He began pulling clothes from his drawer and into the suitcase. Kagura shrugged and did the same. She pulled out a Kingdom Hearts shirt that she had been given on her first Christmas at the orphanage. Smiling, she grabbed her favorite pair of black jeans and turned to Kyle.

"It's your turn to leave," she laughed. Kyle groaned and grabbed his pair of clothes. He shuffled off to the bathroom. Kagura laughed and pulled her wet shirt off, replacing it with her Kingdom Hearts shirt. She pulled her wet skirt off and pulled on the black jeans. She'd change her underwear later. Half her things were packed by the time Kyle came back, his wet clothes in one hand and the cologne of the orphanage bully in one. Kagura raised an eyebrow as she saw the cologne. Kyle shrugged.

"Might as well..." he said. He dropped the bottle into the suitcase, then closed it. Smiling, he pointed towards the stairs. "Shall we?"

Very few kids showed up to bid the two goodbye. They had stayed to themselves mostly, hadn't made many friends, but they didn't really care that no one came to tell them goodbye. They were too busy listening to Axel and Larxene quietly argue on how to get home.

"-need to get there fast. You're better at warping than I am!" Larxene hissed.

"Yeah, but that'll-"

"No, it will not attract attention, dammit! Nobody pays attention here. It's like they've all got A.D.D!"

"You're not giving them enough credit, Larxene."

"I'm not the giving type, Axel." Axel groaned.

"I'm not warping and that's fin-"

"Fine, then _I'll_ warp them home," she grabbed for Kyle and Kagura.

"DON'T YOU DARE, LAREXENE!" Axel roared. (Fortunately the administrator was not here) His voice lowered to a deadly whisper.

"I am not risking their lives so that you can prove a goddamn point, Larxene. Hand them to me." Larxene gently pushed the two toward Axel.

"What about me?" she asked, bemused. Axel grimaced.

"Take care of yourself. I don't really care if you split yourself into pieces while trying to warp home." Larxene stuck her toungue out. Axel ignored her. "Okay, you two," he said quietly. "Since we're warping, you need to hold your bags as tightly to yourselves as you can, and the hold onto me, got it memorized?" Kagura nodded. Kyle grinned.

"Are we warping as in, 'WHOOP!', here now, there then?" he asked. Axel snorted.

"Yeah, kinda like that." Kagura and Kyle grabbed onto Axel's arms.

Then, they were there. In front of a huge house with an extremely beautiful garden in front. The house was a Western style, with ivy and wild roses that creeped up the sides of the house and over trellises.

"See, no, 'WHOOP' involved," Axel laughed. Kyle frowned.

"Awwww...I was hoping for a 'WHOOP'," he whined. Kagura rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand.

"C'mon, Kyle, let's see our new home!" she dragged him up to the door of the house and waited for Axel. Axel stayed put.

"Go on, kids, I know that I told Larxene I don't care if she comes back, but I do. Just go on in and make yourselves at home," he waved a hand nonchalantly and sat down on a rock, staring at the road. Kyle shrugged and opened the door.

The entryway had no place to put their shoes, in fact, no shoes at the door. Kagura frowned and Kyle shrugged. "Hey, this may have been a Japanese game, but they've got American manners!" he laughed and stepped into the living room. It was a well-worn room, with bluebell-colored curtains over a window in a little alcove. The alcove had several little black pillows and a dark blue blanket neatly folded on it. There were two huge couches angled towards a fairly large TV. Next to the TV was a large self full of DVD's and videogames. Kagura noticed three consoles set down next to the TV.

"Awesome, dudes! Look, it's our new roommates!" Kyle and Kagura swerved towards the distinctive voice of Xigbar.

"How very nice to meet you," Saix, complete with blue hair and scar, smiled and extended his hand. Kagura feebly shook it.

"Roommates?" Kyle asked, looking at Xigbar curiously. Xigbar nodded.

"Yeah, dude. Axel said that we had to adopt you guys for some reason. Dunno why, though..." he ran a hand over his hair.

"Are you the only four of the Organization who live here?" Kagura asked Saix. He laughed and shook his head.

"No, certainly not. Let's see...you've met me, Xigbar, Axel, and Larxene...So you still haven't met Xalden, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, or Roxas yet," he frowned. "Essentially, we all live here except Xemnas." Smiling, he yelled, "Demyx, Zexion, Roxas, Marluxia, Luxord! C'mere and meet our new roommates!" Five darkness portals appeared as five people stepped out. One had a weird-looking blonde mullet, one had spiky blonde hair, one had dark greyish blue hair that flopped over his face to cover one eye, one had pinkish brown hair, and one had beach blonde hair cut short and a beard.

"Nice to meet you," Roxas said.

"Woah, now we got two girls in the house!" Demyx laughed, pointing at Kagura. Kyle smirked.

"I hope you are good at poker..." Luxord sighed. "I've beaten these people too many times..."

"Oh! Do you like the garden?" Marluxia asked. "I have to say, it's some of my best work!"

"Maybe I should show you two to your rooms..." Zexion said, pulling the bemused Kyle and Kagura up a flight of stairs. Roxas and Demyx followed, carrying their luggage. After climbing to the second floor, Zexion began a tour. The upstairs was a rectangular room with a hole in the middle to let the stairs come through. "Those rooms," he pointed to the four doors on the wall to the left, "are where Axel, Marluxia, Xigbar, Xalden, Luxord, Lexaeus, Vexen, and I sleep." Pointing to the three doors to the right, he said, "Kagura, you'll be sharing a room with Larxene. Kyle, you're sharing a room with Roxas."

"What's the middle door?" Kagura asked.

Zexion smiled gently, "The bathroom. You're lucky. You two are closest to the bathroom. It's hard when you have fourteen people all needing to brush their teeth in the morning."

"Yeah!" both Roxas and Demyx said at the same time.

"We only have three bathrooms in the house..." Demyx moaned. "It's a total pain in the a-" Zexion shot him a nasty look. "-asphault! Yeah, that's what I was gonna say, asphault!" Kagura and Kyle exchanged a grin. They had torture material on him.

"Thank you, Zexion. And you, Demyx and Roxas." Kagura said.

"If it's okay with you, I think we'd like to put our things away now." Kyle put in. Zexion shook his head.

"We're repainting and reflooring the rooms for you, you'll have to sleep in the guest rooms for now." he said, pointing to one of the doors in front of them.

"And not in the same one! OWWWW!" Demyx cried and Roxas slugged him on the back of the head. Zexion rolled his eyes. Kagura couldn't keep herself from grinning.


	3. Thunderhead

Lucky XIII: Chapter III:

'Thunderhead'

Notes: I do not own Twilight. Nor do I claim to own it. But I have to say, it's my favorite book and you really should read it. Also, I do not own Holding on For a Hero or Whisper

Gyoza means dumpling or potsticker in Japanese

Kagura sighed as she shut the door to the guest room. It was a small but welcoming room with a large bed covered with red blankets and crimison pillows. Dark red curtains covered another reading nook filled with more crimison pillows. Kagura peeked behind the curtains to look out the window. Outside, she saw a large garden, filled with flowers and plants from all over the world. Sakura trees were dotted throughout the garden, and in the very center was a large pond, filled with Koi. Kagura smiled and let the curtains drop, turning to look at the rest of the room. There was a small red dresser with a mirror hanging over it and a walk-in closet. Hanging in the closet was an Organization cloak. Smiling, Kagura shut the door to the closet and flopped onto the bed. Pillows bounced into the air and revealed a stuffed Stitch. Kagura smiled, clutching the fuzzy blue stuffed animal tightly to her chest. She sat there for a while, eyes closed, listening to the rain plod softly on the roof until a voice gently said:

"Hey." Kagura jumped, glancing over her shoulder to see Axel sitting in the reading nook. In his hand was a large black-bound book. "I heard you liked reading. And Stitch," he indicated the stuffed animal that Kagura held to her chest. "Here." he tossed the book to her. On the spine was the title, Twilight "It's a really good book.I thought I'd put something in here that you could relate to, or something like that..." he trailed off, confused. Laughing softly, he shook his head. "Anyway, Marluxia wanted to know what you wanted to eat. We figured that we'd give you something you wanted to eat, since it's your first day here and all..." he paused, expecting an answer.

"Uhhh...I dunno. Why don't you ask Kyle, he's good at making superflouous desicions." Kagura rolled her eyes. Axel frowned.

"I really don't think that you want to eat sea salt ice cream for dinner, do you?" he asked, slightly bewildered. Kagura snorted.

"No, you're right..." she sighed. "I guess I'll have gyoza, if that's okay with you." Axel grinned impishly.

"Why, oh why, did you pick my favorite food?" he hopped off the reading nook and grabbed Kagura off the bed.

Kagura was in Axel's arms in what she assumed must have been a game room. Kyle, Luxord, Zexion, and Roxas sat playing B.S. Demyx sat in a corner, quietly playing his sitar.

"Put me down!" Kagura yelped, causing everyone in the room to turn their attention to her. Axel laughed as she struggled to get out of his arms, eventually falling on the foor in a heap. Kyle, Roxas, and Demyx all laughed while Zexion and Luxord quietly ignored it. (Though Kagura swore she saw Zexion smiling) She pulled herself up off the floor, trying to retain some dignity, and walked over to Demyx. "Hey, you mind playing a song I can sing to?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow. Demyx grinned.

"Sure. Whatcha want to sing?" Kagura frowned as she thought.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, raising a finger. "How about _Holding Out For a Hero_?" Demyx smiled.

"Sure. Hey, Axel, Roxas, Zexxi? Care to join me?" he asked. Axel shrugged and disappeared.

"Alright. I got nothin' better to do," Roxas said, also disappearing. Zexion nodded and vanished. A few minutes later, Zexion appeared with a keyboard in hand. Axel and Roxas came in, both carrying a drum set. Axel vanished again, but came back almost instantly with an electric guitar.

"Ready?" Axel and Demyx asked simultaniously. Kagura nodded. Zexion began the first few notes.

_Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?_

_Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?_

_Isn't there a white knight upon a fighting steed?_

_Late at night, I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need._

_I need a hero._

_I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light._

_Oh, he's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon and he's gotta be larger than life._

_Larger than life._

"Hey. Nice singing." interrupted a new voice. Sitting at the table were, Xigbar, Saix, Marluxia, Larxene, an older looking man with grey-blonde hair, a man with threatning blue eyes and black dreadlocks in a ponytail, and a man with swept-back brown hair who was the speaker. Kagura blushed.

"Awww...poor little thing's embarrassed." Demyx said, slinging one arm over Kagura's shoulder. "Lexaeus, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" he fixed a stern look at all who were sitting at the table. "That goes for all of you! Be nice." Xaldin rolled his eyes.

"Like you're one to talk," he drawled, a smirk spread across his face.

"Yeah, you hypocrite!" Vexen exclaimed, slamming a fist on the table.

"Chill, Vexen," Larxene sighed. The entire room burst into laughter. Larxene groaned and put her head in her hands. "Ugh, I HATE that pun..."

"Oh, don't worry, Larxene." Kagura piped, the laughter at Demyx's expense cheering her up. "I'm sure I'll make the same mistake dozens of times." Smiling, she leaned over and put a hand on Larxene's shoulder, causing Demyx to lose his balance and send the three of them flying onto the floor in a tangled mass of arms and legs. The laughter roared louder. Axel, who was laughing the loudest, gave Kagura his hand, who gladly grabbed it. He pulled her up, laughing all the more at Larxene's glare.

"C'mon, let's go get some dinner before they get you into even more trouble!" he whispered, warping into the kitchen.

The kitchen was huge. Gasping, Kagura stared at the high-tech appliances and the sleek counters. Axel chuckled.

"Got somethin' in your eyes, twerp?" he affectionately ruffled her hair, making her glare at him through her pitch-black locks.

"Nah, I just...I've never seen such a beautiful kitchen. The food must be really good." she continued to stare at the kitchen, her grey eyes scanning everything. Axel frowned, he didn't like the way she viewed things in this house. Like she was never going to see them again.

"Well, why don't you see for yourself?" he asked, crossing the kitchen to a pot emitting steam through its cover. He lifted the cover and pulled out a dumpling. He popped it into his mouth and sat, chewing thoughtfully. Then he smiled, nodded, and pulled two plates from a nearby cabinet. He dumped the gyoza onto the plates, filling a small bowl full of soy sauce. He carried the plates and the bowl to a small table. "Sit," he demanded, holding out a chair for Kagura. She sat, looking stunned all the while. "Whaddaya want to drink?" Axel asked, pulling two cups from a cabinet. Kagura frowned, thinking.

"Got any Mountain Dew?" she inquired meekly. Axel snorted.

"Yeah, it's one of the reasons Demyx is so crazy. He's addicted to that stuff." he went to another cabinet, this one filled with drinks of all sorts. Kagura noticed that there was a lot of alcohol in there. After rummaging about for a minute, Axel cried, "Ah!" and pulled out a two-liter bottle of Mountain Dew. He sat down, placing the two glasses and the bottle onto the table.

"So," Kagura asked as he poured the two of them some of the yellow-green liquid. "How do you guys have so much money?" she indicated the kitchen. Axel laughed.

"Well, Vexen is a doctor, Xaldin is a well-respected chef, Lexus is..a bodyguard you could say, and Luxord is the best poker player in town," he mumbled through a mouthful of gyoza. "So naturally, we get lots of money." Kagura nodded.

"Umm...I don't want to be rude or anything, but where's Xemnas?" she stared at her gyoza, not daring to look at Axel's face. She heard him sigh.

"Where to start...well-"

"Whatcha two talkin' about, dudes?" everyone had warped into the kitchen, and Xigbar had his arm resting around Axel's shoulder. "Not anything about me, I hope..." he pulled out his gun and smiled cockily.

"HEY!" Saix yelled from across the room, though he was quickly crossing it with long, angry strides, "Put that thing away, Xigbar! A) It's dinner time, and B) It's extremely rude to threaten people." he glared coldly at Xigbar.

"What're you talking about, you hypocrite?" Demyx hollered from the line that had formed to get food from the pot. "You threaten everyone here!" Saix ignored him. He turned to Kagura quickly.

"Do not worry about him or anyone else. If they go too far, Zexion and I will take care of them, okay?" he smiled pleasantly. Suddenly, he made a swift bow and walked into the line, where he proceeded to ignore Demyx and Xigbar's jeering.

"Hey, Axel..." Kagura asked quietly.

"Nnn?" he mumbled through his gyoza.

"I was wondering-"

"Hey, how's it going?" Kyle asked, plopping down at the table. Roxas grinned and sat down next to Kagura. Kyle grinned back and Kagura felt a wave of doom washing over her.

"Oi! Axel! C'mere for a minute!" Demyx called from the line. Axel shrugged and left, leaving Kagura alone with Roxas and Kyle. Roxas turned and smiled at Kagura gently.

"So...what's an awfully cute girl like you doing living in this house?" he murmured. Kagura blushed violently and stared at her gyoza. She felt Roxas's hand on her hair. "Oh, don't be embarrassed...it's true, you know." Kagura blushed even further.

"W-well...umm..d-don't you like N-namine?" she mumbled, still staring at her plate. Roxas exploded into laughter.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" he chuckled, trying to make the words intelligable. "I was just teasing you!" he laughed. Kagura glanced up at him and found that his eyes were sincere. "Yes, I do like Namine, though we're not going out or anything, but I was just joking. Try not to be so..." he trailed off, looking for the right word. He abruptly stopped trying to think of the word when Axel came back and sat down.

The conversation continued on with innocent topics such as the weather (Though Kagura blushed when Roxas glanced at her as he complained about how hot the weather had been lately) until everyone at the table had eaten their gyoza. Soon after finishing, Kagura glanced at her watch and gasped.

"Ahh...I gotta go to sleep! It's almost 11:00 p.m!" she grabbed her dishes, washed them off, and put them in the dishwasher. She returned to the table, said goodnight to everyone, and sped up the stairs.

"Uhhh..." Roxas glanced at Kyle, looking for an explanation. Kyle smiled.

"If she goes to sleep late, she wakes up in the morning a zombie. I'm not kidding, she's lifeless for as long as three hours!" he shook his head in futility. Axel just smiled in a bemused fashion as he put his dishes up too.

Kagura woke before the sun rose, the smell of rain filling her room. Sleepily, she rolled over and shut the window. She yawned and pulled herself off the reading nook, her spine popping backing back into place. She crossed the room to the nearly untouched bed and pulled her suitcase out from under it. She pulled on a long-sleeved t-shirt and a white hoodie. She slipped on a pair of embroidered jeans and pulled her hairbrush out. She quietly slid out of her room, silently shutting the door behind her, and went to the bathroom. She quickly brushed her pitch-black hair into a ponytail and went back to her room to put her brush back and put her boots on. As quietly as she could, she slunk down the stairs and out the front door.

The sun had just come out, but it had been covered by light grey rain clouds, leaving a bright splotch on the otherwise seamless sky. A light breeze picked up loose strands of Kagura's dark hair, spreading the smell of rain and damp earth. Kagura walked slowly into the back garden, looking at Marluxia's handiwork. She smiled as she saw a patch of lilies, her mother's favorite flower. Bright beads of dew sparkled dimly on the ivory petals. Kagura streched her hand down and touched one of the drops of dew, causing it to cling to her fingertip. She stared at the dew pensively for a while, then shook her head as if to clear the troubling thoughts in her head. She walked over to the Koi pond, staring at the fish's flowing fins and elegant swimming style. The words to a song bubbled in her mind and she smiled as she thought of them. She slowly raised her voice, a sound of lament in the grey dawn:

_Catch me as I fall_

_Say you're here and it's all over now_

_Speaking to the atomosphere_

_No one's here and I fall into myself_

_This truth drives me into madness_

_I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away_

_If I will it all away_

_Don't turn away_

_Don't try to hide_

_Don't close your eyes_

_Don't turn out the light _

_Never sleep, never die_

_I'm frightened by what I see_

_But somehow I know that there's much more to come_

_Immobilized by my fear_

_And soon to be blinded by tears_

_I can stop the pain if I will it all away_

_If I will it all away_

_Don't turn away_

_Don't try to hide_

_Don't close your eyes_

_Don't turn out the light _

_Never sleep, never die_

"Hey, why the depressing song?" Axel asked quietly as she finished the song. Kagura wasn't suprised that he was here.She stood up, still staring at the pond.

"I was remembering my mother," she murmured. Axel stood up too. Then, suddenly, he hugged her forcefully. Kagura, after being startled at first, relaxed slowly.

"I don't know why it was that I felt so strongly about it, but the second I saw your house destroyed on T.V.,I knew that you and Kyle were homeless and that I needed to adopt you and Kyle," he whispered, maybe to himself as well as to her.

"But I spent two years at that orphanage..." she looked at him curiously. Axel laughed softly.

"That's how long it took to get this house ready for you two. Larxene and Roxas both felt it too, but I had to argue with everyone else to let you two move in." he let go of her, but quickly grabbed her hand. "C'mon, let's go wake Marluxia up and get him to fix us breakfast!"

"Okay, here's the plan..." Larxene said, pointing to a piece of paper with a color scheme and design on it. Kagura and she stood in their now empty room in old t-shirts and shorts. Lined up against one of the walls were several cans of paint and painter's tape. Earlier that day, Axel (Who only came because he had to drive them to the store), Larxene, and Roxas had taken Kagura and Kyle to the home improvement store to buy paint and flooring for their rooms. Kagura and Larxene had decided to do a light blue wall with dark blue trim. So now they stood in an empty white room filled with paint cans.

"Larxene, does it matter? I mean, this is really simple. Dip paintbrush. Drag paintbrush against wall. Make sure not to cross the tape. Repeat the process until the wall is all the same color." she picked up a paint can opener and a paintbrush.

"You're one funny kid," Larxene snorted. She stood up and grabbed a paintbrush. She turned to find Axel, dressed in torn jeans and an old t-shirt that already had paint stains on it, standing with a paintbrush in hand.

"Mind if I help?" he asked, a rhetorical question. Larxene didn't notice that fact. She crossed her arms over her chest and began to tap a bare foot.

"No," she pouted. "Get outta here, it's girls only!" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Who says I'm not a girl?" he asked teasingly. Larxene rolled her eyes in despair.

"C'mon, you two. We've got a room to paint," Kagura groaned irratably, although she was smiling. Axel and Larxene nodded and dipped their paintbrushes into the paint.

Three and a half hours later, the painting was done. All three were covered in paint and the floor was splattered with globs of paint from their numerous paint fights. The dark blue paint that covered half of Axel's face was cracked around the sides from where he had been laughing so hard. Kagura lay on the floor, staring at the clouds that they had painted on the ceiling of the room. Axel was busy painting something on the back of Larxene's t-shirt, who was happily chatting about the furniture that Kagura and she should buy for their room.

"-need beds of course...probably just the stand, or maybe get one of those big round beds. We'll need chairs, too. And a desk or something for Kagura to write on when she gets to school again..." Kagura turned to look at Larxene. She grinned. "Don't worry. We'll make sure you and Kyle are settled in comfortably before we make you go back to school. Anyway, what kinds of furniture do you think we'll need?" Kagura grinned.

"A big dresser with half rainclouds and half thunderclouds on it. The thundercloud side will be yours. The rain side will be mine." Axel shook his head.

"Nuh-uh. I like the thunderclouds idea, but Kagura's side should have a sakura tree with its petals flying everywhere," he leaned over Larxene's shoulder and grinned at Kagura. Kagura shrugged.

"Okay, but we'll also need a couple of nightstands and a c.d. player." Larxene nodded.

"And we need to buy you some of your own c.d.'s. I don't think you'll like my music, I listen to mostly American stuff." she waved her hand for emphasis. Kagura grinned.

"So do I. Ten years of living next to an American best friend and it kinda rubs off," she laughed, thinking of the first time Kyle made her listen to his music. "And we'll need wall scrolls. Lots of them!" Larxene grinned.

"Are you a little poster-happy?" she teased. Kagura nodded.

"Yes," she replied. "And I am not ashamed of it." She crossed her arms over her chest in imitation of what Larxene did earlier. Axel snorted. He lifted the paintbrush off Larxene's shirt.

"All done!" he cried. "_Ce'est Magnifique!_" Larxene stood and turned around to show Kagura what it said. Kagura almost fainted when she saw it. It said, 'Thunderhead' and had Larxene's head being struck by lightning. The only thing that kept her from laughing was Axel's frantic mouthing of 'No!' over Larxene's shoulder.

"It's...beautiful, Larxene. It suits you so well." she said as sincerly as possible.

"Oh, how I wish I could see it..." Larxene sighed. She plopped down on the floor, looking forelorn. Axel stood up.

"Comeon, Kagura. Let's get some lunch." he said, hooking elbows with her. Kagura frowned.

"Umm...Marluxia's gardening right now...Are you sure he won't mind us using the kitchen?" she asked, confused. Axel shok his head.

"No, we'll go out to eat." he smiled. Larxene stomped a foot impatiently.

""Well, what about me, huh?" she demamded. Axel shot Kagura a grin.

"Ah, feed yourself Thunderhead!" he cried and warped out. But not before seeing recognition of what he had just said dawn on Larxene's face.


	4. Smells Like Rain

Lucky XIII: Chapter IV

'Smells Like Rain'

Notes: I'm not sure if they have Taco Bells in Tokyo...so if you're from Japan, maybe you could clear that up for me...

Axel and Kagura remateriallized right in front of the house. Axel grinned impishly.

"So, where to, now that we've dumped that Thunderhead?" he asked casually. Kagura rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm dressed in obscenely short shorts and half your face is covered in paint," she snorted, reaching up to peel some of the paint off his face. Axel's grin grew broader.

"So? And what's wrong with those shorts anyway?" he raised an eyebrow, questioning.

"Nothing. Aside from the fact that they are covered in blue paint and don't even cover half my thigh!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Fine," Axel pouted, hooking elbows with Kagura again.

They appeared in a dark alley somewhere downtown. Kagura sighed.

"You gonna kill me now?" she whispered, unsure of why she felt this sudden urge to keep quiet.

"Nah," he whispered back. "You're not that lucky." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and sauntered out of the alley, half dragging Kagura all the way. By the time she had matched her stride to his, they were standing in front of a Taco Bell. "After you, my lady," he said, grinning all the wider. Kagura sighed and walked hesitantly into the restaurant. Eyes from all over the room turned to stare at the very odd sight. Axel griinned and waved as Kagura just shook her head in embarrassment. They went to the counter to order. "Whatcha want, Kagura?" Axel asked after ordering.

"Some proper clothes and to get this paint off my face..." she muttered. Axel sighed.

"Be an obsinate litle brat, then," he turned to the employee who was at the register.

"Four crispy tacos , hold the sour cream and tomatoes," he said, pulling out a wallet to pay for the lunch. Kagura started.

"H-how...did you know that?" she whispered. Axel grinned and indicated an isolated table in the corner of the room. The two crossed the room and sat down.

"You were in that orphanage for two years, Kagura. While Larxene and Roxas did the squabbling with the others, I did the fieldwork!" he fiddled with a packet of taco sauce.

"Wait..you've been watching Kyle and I for two years?" she hissed, her eyebrows forming a dangerous slant. Axel nodded, as if preoccupied. "What's my favorite color?" she asked.

"Black."

"What's my favorite videogame?"

"Kingdom Hearts II, but you like the storyline of Chain of Memories better."

Kagura was about to ask another question, but decided against it and shut her mouth. Axel raised an eyebrow and was about to question her when the kid at the register called their order number. Kagura was sitting with her head down, twiddling her fingers in her lap, when Axel came back with their tray of food. Het set the tray down, then turned to Kagura. "The answer to your unsaid question: Your favorite character in Kingdom Hearts is Axel." Kagura blushed furiously and seemed to sink lower into her chair. Axel chuckled at her embarrassment. They sat there in silence for a while when:

"...Uhm, Axel..." Axel looked up, meat from his taco dribbling down his chin. The sight cheered Kagura a little.

"Well-" Axel put a hand up, silencing her. He was staring intently, but at what, Kagura was not entirely sure. Then, a look of terror crossed his face.

"Oh, no.." he whispered in a horrified tone. A scream sounded from the back of the restaurant and a woman who must have been a cook ran out, yelling 'monster'. Axel grabbed Kagura's shoulders. "Run," he whispered hoarsely. She shook her head, causing Axel to shake her shoulders. "Run!" he yelled, as black figures began to slide under the kitchen door. Kagura's eyes widened as she recognized the things.

"Shadows..." she whispered, incredulous. She took a step forward, towards the Heartless, but Axel threw her back. She landed on the floor behind him as he took a defensive stance, chakrams miraculously in his hands. The first few shadows leaped towards Axel. Kagura screamed in fear, but Axel just tossed one of the chakrams. With a burst of bright fire, the chakram collided with the shadows, causing them to disintigrate into clouds of black matter.

"RUN, NOW!!!!" he roared, stopping his onslaught on the Heartless to pooint towards the door. Kagura pulled herself up, but instead of running towards the door, she ran up next to Axel and grabbed on of his chakrams from his hands. "What the hell are you doing, Kagura?" he yelled, reaching out for the chakram in her hands. Kagura merely grinned and set to work hacking at the Heartless, swinging the chakram as if it were a sword.

"There's no way I'm gonna let you do all the fighing, Axel," she laughed, pausing only for a second to stick her toungue out at him. Axel shook his head incredulously and turned to the stream of Heartless that were now filling the room. Kagura continued to hack at the shadows like a berserker, reminding Axel of Saix, but Axel knew that there was no way that the two of them were going to be able to take care of the onslaught by themselves. It reminded him of the time he was in the Betwixt and Between...

Three lights began to glow in the middle of the room, growing brighter and brighter until there was a blinding flash of light. When the light had faded, three teenagers stood in the middle of the room. One had insanely spiky brown hair and vibrant blue eyes; one had dark red hair and blue eyes a little darker than the brown-haired boy's. The one with silver and eyes cold blue as ice brandished a sword shaped like a bat's wing with angel wings as the hilt.

"Let's kick some Heartless ass!" the silver-haired one yelled, diving into the fray.

Kagura almost shrieked with joy as she saw Riku, Sora, and Kairi wading into the battle. Sora and Kairi stood back to back, moving in unision as they cut down shadow after shadow. Riku's battle style was more erratic, with a lot of dancing and dodging before his attacks. She noticed that his main tactic was not to kill one by one, but to confuse the Heartless into clumping together so that he could eliminate a whole group with one flick of his blade. Kagura turned to Axel, who was not faring too well. He was gasping for breath and was fending off six shadows at the same time. Kagura felt a tinglig sensation run through her spine, urging her to do something, but Kagura had no idea what. An idea dawned in her head, it probably wouldn't work, but she had to try it anyway.

"Heal!" she cried, lifting Axel's chakram into the air. A green light appeared over Axel's head and Kagura swore she saw a four-leaf clover appear. Axel straightened and turned to look at Kagura curiously. Then he shrugged and turned back into the battle. Kagura noticed that the tingling in her spine went away. As she sat there pondering it, a shadow struck her in the back, jolting her back into reality. With a feral snarl, she turned on the shadow, slamming the chakram between its yellow eyes. As she furiously pounded shadows right and left, Riku doged his way over to her, shepharding a group of ten shadows and slicing them neatly into nothingness.

"Hello, I don't think we've met," he said calmly, sidestepping away from a lash of a shadow's claws. Kagura whirled and slashed the shadow out of existance.

"No. We haven't. I'm Kagura, nice to meet you," she laughed. "I'd shake your hand, if I wasn't afraid of mine getting cut off by these Heartless!" Riku snorted.

"Riku!' Sora yelled from across the room. Riku looked up. Sora was standing at the door to the kitchen. "You need to take a look at this!" Riku nodded to Kagura and Axel and the three ran to the kitchen door, cutting a clear path and jumping over shadows. Inside the kitchen, shadows were streaming out of some sort of orb floating in the center of the room.

"Someone's breached the barrier..." Axel whispered. He turned to Sora and Kairi. "Are these coming from Destiny Islands?" he asked, noticing that the shadows that were streaming from the orb weren't attacking the five of them. Sora nodded.

"If we seal the breach, they can't come through anymore. But it requires that I seal the breach from Destiny Islands. But if leave, who's going to eliminate the Heartless here? I don't want to strand anyone here..." Sora said, looking to Axel. Axel nodded and vanished. Almost immediately, Larxene, Zexion, Lexaeus, Xigbar, Saix, and Demyx appeared along with Axel.

"You little dudes go, we'll handle the Heartless!" Xigbar yelled, running through the kitchen door. Saix quickly ran to Kagura, motioning for Demyx, Zexion, Larxene, and Lexaeus to leave the room.

"It's not safe here anymore. The barrier of this world has been broken and Xemnas will stop it nothing to gain control of this world. You must leave now, go to Destiny Islands where you will be safe." Saix whispered, hugging Kagura lightly. A long black scourge apperaed in his hands, coiled up so that he could hold it without impaling his hands on the spikes. "Take this," he whispered, handing the scourge to her. She took it feebly. "You fight like a berserker, but you are better suited to ranged weapons. Try to work on that." He smiled and kissed her lightly on the forhead and ran off, dragging his overlong sword on the ground behind him so that it produced an awful screeching sound. Kagura turned to Sora.

"Okay," she said, her expression fierce. "What do we need to do to get these bastards out of here?" Sora pointed to the orb.

"That is blocking the breach. If we desroy it, the breach will appear and we can cross the breach. After doing that, we can seal it." Riku nodded and ran to the orb. Using his momentum to power his strike, he swung his blade at the orb. The blade never even touched it. Halfway down, the blade bounced back as if it had hit some sort of barrier. Riku was flung back against the wall of the kitchen. The prickling sensation in Kagura's spine came again. She turned to the orb, reallizing what she needed to do.

"Force," she whispered, waving a hand at the orb. A globe of purple energy surrounded the orb, obscuring it from veiw. The globe got smaller and smaller until it collapsed onto the orb, causing the orb to shatter. As shards of glowing crystal flew past them, a door appeared where the orb was. Kagura ran to the door, opened it, and motioned for the others to step through. Just before she shut the door, Demyx ran through the kitchen door to wave goodbye.

"See ya soon, little loon!" he called, waving his sitar high in the air. Kagura rolled her eyes and stepped through the door.

The five stumbled out of the door and into the Secret Place.

"Shut the door!" Sora yelled. Kagura complied. Pulling out his keyblade, he pointed it at the door, which now had a keyhole. A beam of light shot out of the end of the keyblade and into the keyhole. A clicking sound like a lock echoed off the walls of the cavern. "There. It's done," Sora said, brushing his hands off on his pants. Kagura collapsed onto the floor with a tired sigh.

"Are they gone now?" she yawned. Axel laughed softly and picked her up. She stuggled feebly and muttered something, but it was muffled since her face was pressed into Axel's shirt.

"What was that?" he teased, ducking low to get through the twisting tunnels out of the Secret Place. Kagura gave another muffled response, but she had stopped struggling. By the time Axel had carried her to Riku's house, she was sleeping.

Kagura woke up and swung her body off the long blue couch. She streched like a cat and shuffled her way out of the living room. She heard voices coming from the kitchen. Yawning, she dragged herself into the kitchen and sat herself down at the table without even looking at anyone.

"Hello, sunshine!" Axel trilled. Kagura muttered something along the lines of 'Shaddup, loud asshole...' Riku laughed and hopped off his chair.

"I'll make you some coffee," he said, opening a cabinet in the kitchen. Axel shook his head.

"Don't give her coffee, she'll spaz. Give her some jasmine tea." Riku nodded and began to make the tea. Kagura's sleepiness was beginning to wear off.

"Where are we?" she mumbled, fiddling with the edge of her shirt.

"Riku's house," Axel said. "You want anything to eat?" Kagura shook her head.

"I want some jasmine tea. Doubt Riku's got any though..." she mumbled again. Axel grinned at Riku.

"What'd I say?" he said, spreading his hands wide. Riku rolled his eyes and sat a small cup down along with a pot full of jasmine tea. Axel poured Kagura a cup and pushed it towards her. Kagura slowly picked it up and took a sip. And another. And another. Then, she set the cup down on the table and turned to Axel.

"What was Saix saying about Xemnas?" she asked, glaring at Axel. Axel sighed.

"Well, your world was never supposed to exist," he frowned at Kagura, who was going to protest. "I've no idea how it exists, but it does. And it is vey odd, too. When I faded away, I materiallized there, and I had a heart. I wasn't a Nobody anymore," he scratched the back of his head in confusion. "So did all the other members of the Organization. All but Xemnas. At first, we thought that Xemnas didn't die, but then Roxas appeared. And he's been a huge part of communication between Sora and the others and I. Somehow, Roxas is still tied to Sora and can still cross the barrier without breaking it.The barrier is blocking all other beings from other worlds but Nobodies. But apparently, Xemnas is still alive somhow and won't be allowed through the barrier. He wants to come here to get a heart, and he is going to take over the world in the process." Axel turned to Kagura. "I'm finished now." Kagura nodded and turned to Riku.

"What's next?" she asked. Riku shrugged.

"We've no idea where Xemnas is or how he exists anymore, all we know that it is him. His 'servants' stink of him," he snarled, disgusted. Kagura nodded, she remembered that Riku could smell varying amount of darkness.

"What do I smell like?" she asked him, slightly embarrassed. Riku looked at her, confused, while Axel smiled his bemused smile. Kagura blushed, "I mean, like what kind of darkness I smell like?"

"Oh," Riku laughed. "Well, you smell vey different. Not like darkness, but something else. Darkness gives off this spicy smell and Nothing gives off this smell like those flowers that make your nose itch. You're niether. You smell a bit like rain, damp and earthy..." he shrugged, embarrassed. "It's not a bad smell, just different." Kagura smiled.

"I've always loved the smell of rain." She got out of the chair. "Can I go outside?" she asked. Axel and Riku both smiled.

"Of course," Riku said, pointing to a door on the left side of the kitchen. Kagura grinned and bounded out of the room, oblivious to the fact that it was one in the morning and the second she left the room both Riku and Axel fell asleep in their chairs.


	5. Gaaaaah! Spiky!

Lucky XIII: Chapter V

'Gaaaaah! Spiky!'

Notes: Konnichiwa! Umm...my friends tell me that the guys in this fanfiction are overfriendly. And I guess they are, but this is NOT a Het fiction. Its just that I have a lot of friends who are guys who act like that and they've been a model for the guys' behavior. Also, please excuse any sort of change in behavior in the characters. I was high on Fun Dip and had recently watched Crank while writing this. So my natural insanity comes out even more than usual. Also, the Gummi Ship scene was really hard for me to write, so cut me some slack in that respest.

Kagura skipped happily in the sand, her bare feet getting covered. She was filled with total exhilaration. Before, living with the Organization was like having a dream so wonderful, you knew it would end soon. But it didn't. And now, the wet sand on her toes and the rock that she was standing on that was slowly cutting into her foot proved it: This was real. Real! Heartless and Nobodies, keyblades and keyholes, it was real! It wasn't some dream that her brain had thought up to punish her, after all. It was like diving into the deep end of a pool for the first time.

"It's real!" she shouted at the stars, flinging herself onto the wet sand. "It's real! They exist!" she laughed and shouted, staring at the stars all the while. "There are many worlds, but they share the same sky. One sky, one destiny," she quoted, giggling. Someone sat beside her in the wet sand.

"Nice, you've memorized it," Sora sat beside her, grinning. Kagura sat up and tried to wipe the wet sand out of her hair. Sora just laughed and picked up a handful of sand. With one hand, he rubbed the sand into his hair, making the spikes droop a little. Kagura laughed.

"Uhm...should I call you Sora, or what?" she rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. Sora laughed.

"Yeah. Should I call you Kagura?" he asked. Kagura noticed that his voice was a lot deeper than it had been in Kingdom Hearts II. She grinned.

"No," she said, gently pushing him so that he fell over in the sand. "You must call me Master and must kiss my feet." She wriggled her sandy toes for emphasis. Sora shrugged.

"As you wish, master," he said, leaning over to kiss her feet. Kagura shrieked and ran off down the beach. Sora chased after her, easily catching up, and headbutted her so she fell flat on her face. He tried to stop, but ended tripping over her legs and flew six feet before landing in the sand with a 'Umph!'

"Second thought..." Kagura mumbled through the sand. "don't call me Master, call me Kagura." Sora pulled himself off the sand, laughing. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Kagura brushed the sand off of the shirt. The two walked down the beach, towards the platform with the poupu fruit tree.

"So," Sora asked. "where you're from, I'm in a videogame?" Kagura nodded. Sora laughed. "And you know all about Riku, Kairi, and I." Kagura nodded. Sora grinned. "Who was your favorite character?" he looked at her expectantly, only to see her blush and look down at the bark or the poupu tree.

"Uhm...Axel." Sora nodded.

"And then?" he asked.

"Riku." Sora continued to stare at her. She sighed. "And then Zexion, Roxas, Namine, Saix, Stitch, Cloud, Leon...do I really need to continue?" She smiled feebly. "I'm sorry, but you're too...optimistic for me. I'm afraid I'm quite the pessimist." Sora grinned.

"Then my revenge will be that I will be as absolutely optimistic as possible," he pushed her off the tree. "Now to what I actually came here for." he pulled two wooden swords out from under the tree and tossed one to Kagura. "Wanna spar?" he asked, waving his sword around tauntingly. Kagura grinned and set her sword in an offensive position.

"You're on," she said. Sora rushed in as soon as the words escaped her mouth. She deflected the first few blows, trying to find his attack pattern. It was the same whack, thrust, finish combo from the first game. She grinned as she stopped defending and sent in a fury of blows, driving Sora back to the edge of the platform. Her intent was to push him over, but he suddenly jumped and glided to the other end of the platform. "Hey!" she yelled as Sora began attacking her. "Gliding is cheating!" Sora only grinned. Kagura's anger pulsed through her veins, empowering every strike with a blast of fury almost tangible. If asked later, Sora would've said that she fought just like Saix. Blow after blow, Sora defended but never attacked. When Kagura actually landed a blow, she dropped her sword, her face full of horror. "Are you okay?" she asked, frantic. Sora just smiled, bemused.

"Of course I'm fine, you idiot. Now pick up your sword and keep fighting!" he stood up and waved his sword, motioning for her to continue the fight. She did pick up her sword, but she no longer attacked and she was letting some of Sora's blows hit her, though Sora noticed she deflected all of them onto her arms. "What's the matter?" he taunted. "You scared that if you hit me too hard, I'll get mad at ya?" Kagura's blows were still soft. Sora frowned as reached deep inside of him, the part that was Roxas, and tried to find some sort of insult to throw at her. "Or are you scared that I'll have Roxas come here and whoop your butt?" Kagura rolled her eyes, but her blows had gotten a little harder. An idea popped into Sora's head. "I guess Axel really is a wimp if this is all he's taught you about fighting." That did it. Kagura began to furiously pound down onto Sora's wooden sword, chinks of wood flying every which way. A primal growl came from her throat every time her swod contacted his, and for a second, Sora secondguessed the intelligence of inciting her to this point. Kagura pounded furiously on, until Sora landed flat on his back. She placed the sword lightly against Sora's throat and said:

"I win." She then collapsed onto the ground, sweat pouring from her skin. Axel, who had been watching for quite a while, walked up beside her and helped her to her feet. She began to walk over to Riku's house, but Sora stopped her.

"Hey. You want to go somewhere tomorrow?" he asked. Kagura looked confused. Sora rolled his eyes. "I mean go somewhere on the Gummi Ship." Kagura nodded enthusiastically.

"Can we go to the Pride Lands? I want to see what I look like as a lion. Riku, Kairi, and Axel, too." When Sora nodded, she squealed happily. Axel placed a hand on her shoulder. She stared at him for a while, as if pondering something. Then she jumped and began messing up Axel's mane of flame-colored hair. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!! Your hair is so spiky I can't stand it!!!" she shrieked. Axel rolled his eyes and slung her on his back.

"You're too hyper," he sighed. He began to walk towards Riku's house, Kagura messing up his hair the whole way. Sora shook his head in bemusement.

"She truly is different..." he sighed.

Kagura was wide awake and dressed by the time Axel and Riku had dragged themselves out of bed. "Hello!" she trilled, sitting at the table and drinking jasmine tea. Riku groaned at glared at Axel.

"I thought you said she wasn't a morning person," he whined. Axel shrugged as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"She isn't," he muttered, grabbing the coffee that she had left out for the two of them. He drank it slowly, but he was slowly recovering from his sleepiness. Riku sat at the table, his head in his hands. There was an akward silence for at least twenty minutes until:

"When are we leaving?" Kagura asked. It was quite obvious that she had been practically bouncing off her seat to ask the question, but couldn't find a way to fit into the awful silence. Riku groaned and Axel shrugged.

"Whenever we're ready, I guess," Axel said. Kagura hopped off her chair.

"Uhm...may I go outside?' she asked politely. Axel nodded.

"Please," moaned Riku. Kagura laughed and ran out of the room.

Kagura strolled happily along the beach, walking on the edge of the tide so that the waves would gently flow around her feet and then curl away. She sat down and laid back in the sand, staring at the brilliant blue sky through her silver-toned eyes. She hummed gently to herself, focusing on the tune of the song, the feel of the waves on her bare feet, the blue of the sky. The smell of salt filled her nose. She had been to an ocean once before, but it had smelled like fish. She hated fish. In fact, she couldn't even stand the thought of eating fish; it revolted her beyond words. She laughed at the absurdity of her thoughts and began to sing the song she had been humming.

We had fire in our eyes

In the beginning

We had nothing to hide

In the beginning

It's not fair when you said that I didn't try

I just don't wanna hear it anymore

I swear I never meant to let it die

I just don't care about you anymore

It's not fair when you say that I didn't try

I just don't wanna hear it anymore

A foot nudged her into awareness. Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Axel stood above her, Axel and Sora both grinning like goofs.

"C'mon, little miss Sunshine," Sora said, extending a hand to help her up. She gladly took it. "Let's go to the Pride Lands!" There was a flash of light, and Kagura found herself on a Gummi Ship.

"Woah," she gasped, her eyes wide with awe. Axel laughed and pointed toward the cockpit.

"Hey, you want to help drive it?" he asked. Kagura shook her head, backing away slowly.

"No, no! I do not want to drive the Gummi Ship! I'll probably blow us up!" she cried, her eyes frantic. Axel just rolled his eyes and helped her into the cockpit. He pointed to a row of jumpseats in the back. Kagura nodded and sat down next to Riku. He eyed her nervousness with amusement.

"Is this the first time you've ever been on a Gummi Ship?" he laughed. Kagura nodded. Axel grabbed her hand as he sat next to her and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry," he said in a comforting tone, "It's not all that bad." Kagura cringed at the 'not all that bad' line. Riku smiled and ruffled her hair.

"C'mon, Kagura-kun, you'll make it." Kagura was confused by the use of the honorific. Nobody had called her Kagura-kun in quite some time. She shrugged and then braced for takeoff. Kagura had never been on a plane, but she knew that she would never be happy going by plane after going through takeoff on a Gummi Ship. At first, there was just a deep roar of the engines and a distant throbbing. Then, the throbbing became a full vibration, numbing her entire body. The engines roared once again and the Gummi Ship took flight in almost an instant. The abrupt change from being on the ground to into the air made her stomach flop the way it flops when you're on the highest part of a rollercoaster and about to come down. They broke the atmosphere quickly and soon Kagura was in a wide expanse of stars. Distantly, she could see the outline of Hollow Bastion. (She still called it that, even though it was really Radiant Garden. Old habits die hard.) It looked just like it did in the game, with the town sticking out like a daffodil in a field of forget-me-nots. She laughed at the sheer insanity of it, and Axel smiled. Obviously, the girl was no longer afraid. They passed Beast's Castle and Port Royal, then Agrabah and Halloween Town. Then they rounded the corner and saw the Pride Lands. Kagura sqealed. Riku jumped at the noise, expecting to see a Heartless or some sort of enemy, before realizing that Kagura was just hyper. He sat back down with a groan. Sora manuvered the craft into the docking bay and he smiled.

"Welcome to the Pride Lands, Kagura."

She knew the first second that she was there that she had transformed into something. But the problem was, she couldn't tell what. All that she could see of herself was sleek black paws. She ran around in a circle, trying to see more of herself in her limited view. She heard Axel laugh and Kairi giggle at her antics. She glared up at them, as much as to see what they looked like as to show her anger. Kairi was a sleek dark red lion, her eyes were as vibrant blue as ever. From her ear hung her thalassa shell charm. Sora looked essentialy the same than what her looked like in Kingdom Hearts II, but his mane was a big longer and he was much bigger. He was no longer a cub, but was not yet as big as Simba. Riku was not a lion. He was feline, and built similarly to the others, but his coat was sleek black and he had stronger muscles in the chest and front legs than the others. He had a white mane-like growth of hair that was tied into a ponytail that fell to his chest. Kagura looked down at her paws and realized that she, too, must have been a panther. Axel at first glance appeared to be the largest of them all, but that was mainly due to the length of his legs and the almost comical hugeness of his paws. Axel was leaner than even Sora, though not smaller than Kairi, but his legs and tail were the longest and he stood about four inches higher than Riku (Who was the second largest). His fur was a dark reddish brown and his stomach and chin were a light auburn instead of white. And to top off his already strange appearance, his mane was uncontrollable. Red spikes flew everywhere, haphazardly criss-crossing over one another. Some even spiked downward into his face, slightly obscuring his emerald eyes. The mess of spikes went down his back and stopped just above his hindquarters. When Kagura saw this, she just couldn't help herself.

"Gaaaahhhh!" she yelled excitedly. She ran and pounced on Axel, causing him to be knocked over, and began pawing at his mane with pure delight. "It's so spiky! Hah, hah!" After pawing at the spikes for a minute or so, she collapsed on the ground, giggling like a maniac.//OOc://At this point in time, I'd like to interrupt to inform you that this is what it would be like if I ever met Axel. I would scream with joy every time I saw that hair of his, 'cause it's so damn spiky! I cannot explain why other than that for me, Spiky Red Hair+ Sense of Humor+ Fact That Said Person Is From My Favorite Videogame And Shouldn't Exist But Does Insanity And Utter Joy On My Part//

"Are...you done yet?" Riku's face leaned over hers, drenched with what Kagura thought was concern. Or maybe he was afraid she had gone insane. And maybe she had. Kagura sighed and rolled back onto her feet.

"Yeah. I'm fine, I just...am so happy. Happy that you guys are real and not some sort of illusion that I'll wake up from tomorrow morning." She smiled sadly at Riku. "That sounds really insane, doesn't it?" Kairi bounded up and nudged her rump with a disapproving frown.

"Of course not, silly." Kagura silently thanked all entities that were listening that she didn't talk like she did in the first game. Kairi's voice in the first game was as annoying as an off-key four-year-old singing 'In the End' as loudly as possible. Actually, no. It was more annoying.

"Thanks, Kairi," Kagura gave her a small smile. "Now, lets go explore!" She ran off, the rest following.

They had spent a few hours running around the Pride Lands. Kagura met Simba and Nala and even got to see their little cub. She, Axel, and the cub had been rolling around with the cub while Simba, Nala, Sora, Kairi, and Riku sat chatting. When Kagura's stomach gave a loud growl, Sora decided it was time to leave. They said their farewells, and then left into the Gummi Ship.

"Hey, Riku...got the blindfold?" Sora asked when everyone was setteled in the cockpit and they had taken off again. Riku grinned and nodded. He pulled a strip of black material out of his pocket. Axel grinned his especially impish smile and grabbed Kagura's arm.

"Go!" he shouted, and Riku pounced on Kagura, tying the blindfold around her eyes. She struggled, but Axel kept her from damaging Riku too much. After the blindfold had been carefully secured, Riku and Axel lifted her up and carried her into another part of the Gummi Ship.

"There," she heard Riku say. "That should give them the time they need..." She glared as best she could.

"What're you talking about, you baffoons?" she hissed. She heard Axel chuckle.

"Aaah, it's a surprise, Kagura," he saw the look of panic cross her face. She noticed that his voice had grown a bit frantic as he said, "No, not like that! If they'd try to do something like that, I'd probably rip his throat out, keyblade master or no." His hands came down reassuringly on her shoulders. "It's a good surprise...Sora just doesn't want you to know where we're going." Kagura nodded slowly and leaned against something soft behind her. She sat there in silence before: "Hey, Kagura? Could you stop leaning on me for a sec? I gotta use the bathroom." Kagura squeaked and blushed furiously. She heard Riku's burst of laughter.

She had stayed as far away from Axel the rest of the ride, moving away every time he'd come near her. Eventually, he gave up and sulked in a corner, something Kagura took a small amount of comfort in. Then the Gummi Ship landed and Riku helped her up, placing his hands on her shoulders and directing her in which direction she should go. They stepped out of the loading dock and through a door into the night air.

It was obvious to Kagura that they were in some sort of town at night. The air was that odd warm-cold that was really comfortable. Smells of gyoza, onigri, and soba floated by, taunting Kagura. Fortunately, Riku was directing her in the direction of the smells. He suddenly stopped and she stumbled forward out of Riku's grasp and fell onto the paved stones.

"Are you okay, kupo?" a voice asked. Kagura nodded and rached towards the voice. Her hand contacted a fluffy body and she screamed:

"Mooooooooooooooooogle!" She threw her arms around the fluffy thing. She adored moogles. Small hands went to the blindfold and carefully untied it. At first, all she saw was the moogle who she was still hugging. But the delicious smells right in front of her nose caused her to look around the fluffy cream-colored body.

"Surprise!"


	6. A NonDepressing Song

Lucky XIII: Chapter VI:

'A Non-Depressing Song'

Notes: I do not own 'Easier to Run' or 'Must be Dreaming'. So now we have come to one of my favorite parts of the story. Stitch and Seifer. Someone blue and furry and someone who should be blue and furry. You'lll notice many allusions to the Chain of Memories manga here, so pay attention! I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist having Stitch call Kagura 'Gura. It's just too cute! Gaaah! Now imagine if Stitch had spiky fur. I think both Kagura and I would have a heart attack. Oh, maybe you haven't noticed, but Kagura is really a reflection of me. She doesn't look like me, and she acts a lot more...calm than me, but she really is my clone. Poor her. Oh, since all the people I've shown this to say I should, I will...make this an Axel/Kagura pairing. But know that it was really hard to write this!

"Surprise!" Kagura looked up to see a large crowd of people sitting in the outdoor patio of a restaurant. She glanced backwards for a minute and her suspicions were confirmed. They had taken her to Traverse Town, her second favorite world. Her grey eyes sweeped over the group of people who had massed to greet her. Leon sat, his gunblade strapped casually across his back; Aerith sat smiling next to a large stack of presents; Yuffie was tossing her shruikan to Cid, who tossed it back while stirring a pot of stew; Cloud leaned against the back wall while Tifa chatted animatedly beside him. Donald and Goofy were there, along with King Mickey. Hayner, Pence, Olette, Seifer, Rai, Fuu, and Vivi all sat at another table, all but Fuu talking in a friendly fashion. But the fact that they were all being friendly was not what surprised her. What surprised her was the furry blue thing sitting on the table eating sea-salt ice cream.

"Stitch!" she yelled, rushing over to the blue furry thing, nearly knocking over the moogle in front of her in the process. Suprisingly, Stitch jumped into her arms and licked her face.

"...'Gura," he replied happily in his thick voice. Kagura merely squealed and buried her face in his soft fur.

"Uuuh, Kagura? Do you know him...?" Axel asked uncertainly. Kagura nodded apologetically.

"Well, umm...Yeah. When I was living in the orphanage, he visited me. I never told anyone, not even Kyle." She blushed while Stitch wriggled his way from her arms and crawled onto her head. He sat there, sniffing. Axel frowned in confusion.

"How is that possible?" he asked. Kagura's blush grew even more red.

"Well, umm, I told Roxas once and, well...He summoned him for me," Stitch nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! Roxas found Ohana for me! He said, 'Gura had no Ohana and that she was lonely. He carried me, long, long way, and took me to 'Gura's house at night. 'Gura and me had lotsa fun!" He flashed his stubby teeth and leaned over to lick Kagura's forhead. Kagura giggled and picked Stitch off her head and held him like a baby. She handed him gently to Axel, who took him with a look of surprise.

"Roxas carried him over the barrier and let Stitch come to me when everyone else was asleep. We had quite a lot of fun playing Mad Libs!" Stitch giggled. Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Roxas told you about the barrier?" he asked. Kagura shook her head.

"No, he said that he crossed the gate to bring Stitch here and that Stitch couldn't operate the gate. Judging from what you and Saix have told me, that's what makes the most sense."

"She's a sharp one, that," came a voice. Roxas strode up, his arms laden with gifts. He dropped them onto the nearest table with a sigh. "Gifts," he explained as Kagura glanced at him curiously. "From the others."

"But I've only been gone three days!" she cried. Roxas shook his head and laughed.

"Kagura, they miss you. Especially Kyle. And they figured you'd need some stuff since you're here having to borrow other people's clothes," he chuckled as her pointed to her overlarge clothes. She blushed.

"I had to borrow my clothes from Riku. I'm considerably larger in the chest than Kairi." Kairi looked at her with a mixture of jelousy and pity. Roxas laughed again.

"As I said, you need some stuff." Stitch jumped from Axel's arms and climbed up onto the table that Aerith was sitting at. He grabbed a haphazardly wrapped present in his teeth and crawled over to Kagura. He gently prodded her leg with the box.

"From me," he said softly. Kagura leaned over to pick him up. She stared into his eyes for a minute and then shrieked.

"Aaagggh! You're too cute! I love you!" she cried, hugging Stitch. OOc//She's turning into Tohru! Everyone laughed, even Cloud and Fuu.

"He's right, Kagura. You need to open your presents!" Yuffie said, prodding the presents gently with her shruikan. Kagura nodded and plopped down into a chair next to Seifer. She took the present from Stitch and carefully unwrapped it. A small case fell out of a box and clattered onto the cobbled stones. Kagura laughed as she picked it up.

"The King..." Stitch said proudly as Kagura looked at her new Elvis' greatest hits cd.

"Ya got more..." Seifer said shyly. He pointed to a small pile underneath the table. Kagura smiled and grabbed the pile of presents and stacked them on top of the table. At this time, all but Cid, who was still stirring the stew, had gathered around the table. Even Cloud. Kagura smiled as she opened the one from Seifer. He blushed as she shouted with joy as she pulled out a Struggle t-shirt. "It's just a shirt..." he muttered. Axel grinned and leaned over to Seifer and whispered something. Seifer's blush grew redder.

"C'mon, Kagura! This is taking too long!" Yuffie whined. Kagura and Stitch opened the rest of her presents together. Most were cd's, or in the case of the rest of the Organization members stuck on Earth, clothes. Kagura got a slip of paper from Kyle that said that Roxas was trying to install a cd player into Sora's gummi ship. Kagura looked around and noticed that Roxas was gone. She laughed heartily when he came back, his hair full of static, and said that it was installed. The only odd present was from Saix, which was a broadsword just like his, but the design on the end was different. Surprisingly enough, she could lift it easily, despite the fact that it was way overbalanced. After all the presents had been opened and Kagura had changed into more suitable clothes, everyone gathered around Cid, wanting some Bellyful Stew. He gladly gave it out, giving twice as much to Kagura as to the others.

"Wait..." Cloud said, dropping something small into Kagura's lap. He began to walk off. "That's from me." Kagura glanced down and saw a silver chain with a black onyx rose hanging from it. She ran after Cloud, the chain hanging from her hand.

"Wait!" she called. Cloud turned and glanced at her with uncaring eyes. She ran to him, panting, and pulled something out of her pocket; Kagura placed it in his hand. "Here. If you're going to go chase Sephiroith again, then I probably won't see you for a while. Take this, in case I never see you again." Cloud glanced down at his palm and saw a small blue crystal in his hand.

"Uhm...thanks, I guess," he muttered uncertainly. Kagura laughed.

"It's rock candy, you idiot. You eat it," she picked it up and shoved it in his mouth. Waving and giggling, she ran off back to the others. Cloud took a small bite of the candy and strode out the doors of Traverse Town.

Kagura returned and plopped down at her seat next to Axel. Yuffie was having a discussion about cheesecake. Axel leaned over and quietly explained what was going on.

"Aerith and Cid think that Dulce de Leche cheesecake is better, but Yuffie likes the strawberry fudge kind," he whispered, amused. Kagura nodded as she grabbed her bowl of stew.

"I agree with Aerith and Cid. Dulce de Leche is much, much, better. I hate chocolate..." she trailed off in discust at the last. Axel glanced at her curiously. He had known her for a while but had never known that she hated chocolate. He smiled gently as he glanced at her long hair falling all around her shoulders. It was wild and untameable and extremely amusing to watch Kagura brush it. Most of the time, she would end up ripping out half her hair just to get it into a ponytail. His green eyes saw a black rose hanging from her neck. Pale fingers shot out and grabbed the necklace, capturing the cold black onyx.

"What's this?" he asked cautiously. Kagura looked up, her mouth full of stew.

"Cow'd ave nt oo ee," she mumbled through her stew. Axel raised an eyebrow and she swollowed her food. "Cloud gave it to me," she replied, her eyes bemused. Axel nodded, but his eyes were still troubled. Kagura sighed and continued to eat her stew.

"'Gura!" Stitch called from over next to King Mickey and the others from Disney Castle. Kagura smiled and wove her way through the field of chairs to get to the table, stew in hand. When she got to the table, Stitch jumped onto her back and climbed onto her shoulder as a parrot would. Kagura giggled as he carefully reached over to grab some of her stew.

"Hello," King Mickey said. Kagura bowed her respect.

"It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty," she said softly. The King laughed.

"There's no need to call me that," he laughed. Goofy guffawed and stepped forward.

"I'm Goofy, Captain of the Knights at Disney Castle," he said. Donald stepped forward, his wizard's staff clutched proudly to his chest.

"And, I'm Donald Duck, Royal Magician!" he said. Well, at least that's what Kagura thought he said. He might have said, "Trust the buck, loyal medicine!" but Kagura doubted it. She nodded to each in turn.

"Well met, Captain. Well met...Duck," Donald glared at her. She merely laughed and turned to King Mickey.

"You had something to say, Your Majesty?" she inquired politely. The King nodded.

"Yes. I came to give you this," his small gloved hand was wrapped around something small. Kagura held her hand out and accepted the item. It was a smooth glass ball. She glanced at it curiously, holding it up so that the candlelight shone on it, rimming the sphere with shining white fire. Kagura felt her spine tingling again.

"What manner of object is this?" she asked quietly, almost to herself. The King giggled slightly.

"It enhances your magic and lets you cast new spells," he said. Kagura smiled, knowing how valuble a gift this was.

"My thanks, Your Majesty," she whispered. She gave another polite bow and walked over to where Axel sat waiting. He smiled impishly.

"You know I haven't given you my gift yet," he said mischeviously. Kagura sighed.

"Yes. And I don't think I want it. I'd prefer to not have my arms blown off or something." Axel snorted.

"What makes you think I'd do something like that?" he asked quietly, getting up from his chair and leading her away from the table. Sora and Kairi shared a knowing glance as Axel and Kagura walked away quietly.

Kagura was in a calm state of bliss. Cid's Bellyful Stew was delicious and her stomach was filled with it. The night breeze blew by, picking up and caressing a few strands of her hair along with her face. She stood near Axel, who always warmed up the air somehow. She was smiling blissfully as she collapsed onto the cobbled pavillion in front of the fountain. Axel smiled and sat on the edge of the fountain, his feet propped next to Kagura's head. There was a companionable silence as the two enjoyed the calm night. Then Kagura began to hum. Axel recognized the tune and began to sing along.

It's easier to run

Replacing this pain with something numb

It's so much easier to go

Than face all this pain here alone

Something has been taken from deep inside of me

A secret I've kept locked away

No one can ever see

Wounds so deep they never show, they never go away

Like moving pictures in my head, for years and years they've played

Axel laughed. "Do you know any non-depressing songs?" Kagura shook her head gently, accedentally bumping her head against Axel's boots.

"Oww..." she whined, clutching her head. Axel laughed and gently pulled her up, hugging her softly. Kagura smiled, his arms were warm and her body was slightly cold. They sat in silence for a while, but Kagura got bored. "So... what about this gift?" she asked Axel quietly. Axel kissed her hair.

"Let me get it..." he murmured. He carefully sat Kagura beside him and dug into his pockets for something. With an, "Ah!" he found what he was looking for and withdrew it. Kagura gasped.

It was a mythril bracelet, each link of the chain shining a dim blue, with an orachulum charm shaped like a crecent moon. The moon was engraved with symbols she did not recognize.

"It's beautiful..." she whispered. Axel smiled and clasped it around her wrist. His hands lingered there, holding her hand gently. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. He stiffened, not knowing how to respond, but soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around her. OOc//Agh, I've had writer's block for days, I can't write this scene!

"Just like you," he whispered in her ear. Kagura shifted slightly and looked into his green eyes. Her face was slightly incredulous, as if she didn't believe what he had just said. Axel laughed and kissed her pitch hair. Kagura pulled herself out of his arms.

"I've got an idea!" she said, an unusually bright smile on her face. She pulled the astonished Axel up off the side of the fountain. She wrapped her arms around his neck with some difficulty; she only stood to about half his shoulder. "Let's dance!" she said, her grey eyes shining. Axel laughed and turned to the fountain, lighting the torches along the side. He turned to Kagura, his face mischevious.

"How are we going to dance if we have no music?" he asked. Kagura just shook her head and started to move, nearly making him fall over. Axel quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and she began to sing:

Pay close attention  
Don't listen to me from now  
George'll be flying this one  
And it's anyone's guess how he does this  
Is the right turn wrong  
Universe taking me in full bloom  
Fireball careful with that there  
See what you made me do

I must be dreaming  
Or we're onto something  
I must be dreaming  
For Idon't fall in love lawlessly  
I must be dreaming  
Or pinch me to waking  
So undeniably yours  
As long as i'm losing it so completely

Incendiary glance  
Be come and collide in me  
Zoom in enhance hold  
While I go helplessly sky high  
Magic eye sugar rushing don't stop

I must be dreaming  
Or we're onto something  
Hey just watcha make me  
For I don't fall in love lawlessly  
I must be dreaming  
Or pinch me to waking  
So undeniably yours  
As long as i'm losing it so completely

Euphoria i can't take any more of  
Yah i'm losing it 

Axel smiled as she finished the song. "Finally, a non-depressing song," he murmered into her hair. Kagura grinned sheepishly. The two stared at one another until they heard the sound of someone clapping.

"Congratulations..." called an eerily familiar voice.


	7. Black Roses

Lucky XIII Chapter VII:

'Black Roses'

Notes: Oh my god, this chapter is so cliche! I'm so sorry for failing you, people! Beat me if you must! Oh, and Xemnas playing music is kinda a ripoff of Volume 11 of D.N.Angel where Argentine is playing music as Risa wakes up. Heh. By the way, he's supposed to be playing the Organization XII theme. You know, the one with the piano that goes: Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun. Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun. Dun Da Dun...(yeah, like that's so descriptive!)

Kagura awoke, sitting straight up and flinging the black blankets of the bed she was in halfway across the room. Panting frantically, she reached out her hand, trying to summon the sword Saix had given her. The effort was futile. Kagura sighed and sank back down on the bed, trying to remember what had happened.

FLASHBACK

Axel whirled, pushing Kagura behind him. She clutched the back of his shirt, recognizing the voice.

"What's the matter, aren't you happy to see me?" the voice said again. Kagura felt the tingling run up her spine again. She meekly peeked from behind Axel's back to look at the newcomer. Long white hair cascaded down massive shoulders and contrasted greatly with the dark gold of the man's skin. His eyes were a hungry amber. It was Xemnas.

"What are you doing here?" Axel snarled, his hands flung protectively around Kagura. Xemnas sighed.

"It seems that now that you have a heart, you are angry with me. I wonder...If I was the one with a heart, would I be this hateful?" Amber eyes burned into Axel's emerald ones. Large hands covered with pitch black gloves gestured in the air.

"Kagura, run!" Axel yelled. Portals of darkness appeared and Sorcerers slid gracefully into the fountain square. Kagura shook her head and stepped beside Axel.

"No way. I told you, you're not going to have all the fun!" She slid into an offensive stance, her hands spreading out. She was ready to fight with her bare hands if she must. There was a flash of light, and the sword that Saix had sent her appeared in her hand. She laughed softly. "Luna Diviner indeed..." Xemnas' cold face turned to her.

"It does not matter if you have aquired a new sword. Axel will fall and you will unlock the barrier to Earth!" he yelled, motioning again with his massive hand. "Sorcerers, attack!" The sinuous grey forms wriggled forward, their translucent blocks of force surrounding them. Kagura let out a triumphant laugh and swung the huge sword, slicing through the boxes as if they were merely illusions. Axel saw the opening and quickly flung his chakrams, talking out two of the Sorcerers before the blocks of force reappeared. Xemnas laughed, a cold, emotionless abomination, and snapped his fingers. "I am willing to give up my whole army, if that is what it takes to take over Earth." His eyes glowed with what could have been determination, but in the Nobody's amber eyes, it was obsession. More Sorcerers appeared, taking the place of their fallen comrades.

"Then I guess you'll have to sacrifice the whole army, Xemnas! I hope you're used to being alone!" she called, rushing forward.As she sliced through another Sorcerer, her berserker personality took over. With a cry of rage, she began flinging the sword with a deadly force that took out five Nobodies at a time. Axel stood gaping for a minute, but quickly recovered when he saw a Sorcerer sneaking up behind Kagura.

"Sneak attacking is dishonest and is a sin..." he said, flinging his chakrams at the Sorcerer, watching it fade. "You'll burn in hell for it!" Kagura let out a barking laugh. Axel smiled and stepped forward, moving to fight at Kagura's side. They found a way to team up, Axel throwing his chakrams to make the boxes dissapate and Kagura swinging her sword in a wide arc, eliminating dozens of Sorcerers at a time. Through all this, Xemnas stared coldly at the two, noticing how well they worked together and communicated. Then, a wide smile spread lazily across his face. He had found the weak point. He quietly warped behind Axel, pressing his OoC//lightsabers?// sword to Axel's throat. The Sorcerers stopped, staring at their master. Kagura whirled, her face horrified.

"Let him go," it was not a threat, it was a plea. A plea that would have struck a chord in even the darkest of hearts. Xemnas didn't even have that. He tightened his grip on Axel, who glared down at him. OoC//Axel IS taller than Xemnas, you know? Oh, great, now I sound like Rai, you know?//

"If you want him to live, you must come with me," Xemnas replied evenly. Kagura nodded and laid down her sword. Axel's face contorted into horrified desperation.

"No, Kagura! DON'T!" he yelled. Something clicked and Kagura's face contorted with fury.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, DON'T? HUH? DO YOU THINK YOU CAN BOSS ME AROUND? WELL, YOU CAN'T! AND IF JOINING WITH XEMNAS MEANS THAT I CAN GET AWAY FROM YOU, THEN I'LL DO IT! NO MATTER WHAT!" she hollered, screaming into Axel's face. When she was done, the hurt look on his face was so full of pain, Xemnas laughed. He let go of Axel, who crumpled onto the cobbled stones. His hand reached feebly for Kagura's sword. Long fingers wrapped around the hilt, but Axel moved no longer.

"Come, my pet," Xemnas crooned. Kagura glanced quickly towards Axel. He wasn't looking her way. She let her tears fall.

END FLASHBACK

Her tears continued to fall, sliding into her black hair. Her hair! Kagura sat up and gasped as her hand moved to her head. Her hair, which had been so long it encircled her waist, had been cut short. She glanced around the strange room she was in, looking for a mirror. There was none. In fact, the only things in the room were the bed, the blankets and pillows, and a blue stuffed animal that she had tossed on the floor. Kagura pulled herself from the bed, picking up the furry blue thing. Black eyes stared up at her. It was the stuffed Stitch Axel had given her. Kagura knew it was the same one because there was a burn mark on its left ear where Axel was trying to catch Larxene's breakfast on fire but had missed and hit Kagura's stuffed Stitch instead. Demyx was the one who had put the fire out, and for that, Kagura had kissed him. Axel didn't seem to like it. Kagura knelt there, absorbed in the memories, when she heard music from somewhere. The song was hauntingly familiar and Kagura slipped out of the white room to find where it was coming from. She padded quietly down the white hall, her black dress sliding quietly against the floor. There was a bright white light coming from an open door to the side and music was wafting serenely from the room.

Xemnas sat at a black grand piano, totally absorbed in his playing. The only other things in the room were a table, a vase of black roses, and a mirror. Kagura stared cautiously at her reflection. Her hair had been cut short to resemble a boy's, but the dress she wore was elegant and feminine. Long black sleeves of rose-patterned lace were slit at the elbow, but trailed down to touch the floor. The black skirt of the dress was cut at about mid-thigh, with a gauze-like black material coming down to sweep the floor. Axel's bracelet was still on her wrist, along with Cloud's necklace, but a silver anklet rested on her right foot. She turned from the mirror, moving forward to the piano. Xemnas was oblivious to her presence, still playing. Kagura finally recognized the tune from Kingdom Hearts and began to sing softly to the wordless song. Xemnas stopped playing and looked up.

"Ah," he said, rising from the bench. "I see you're awake. How lovely." A black gloved hand rested lightly on her shoulder. Kagura shrank from his touch. He laughed as he crossed over to the table where the roses were. He plucked one gently from the vase. "You're quite the vixen," he said, his voice tinged with amusement.

"What do you mean?" Kagura asked, confused. Xemnas turned, the rose still in his hand. He stepped towards her, breaking the stem.

"The way you broke Axel's heart. You completely tore him down. I saw it on his face," he murmered in her ear. He gently wove the rose into her short hair. "You know, I've always been partial to women with short hair. Your hair was much too long, so I asked my servants to cut it." His hand tangled in her pitch black hair. "And that outfit! Ugh! Women should all wear dresses..." he said softly. Kagura's grey eyes closed as she tried to keep her tears from falling. Xemnas removed his hand from her hair and grabbed her chin, forcing her to open her eyes. He studied the pools of tears she was trying to keep in. "You...really did love him, didn't you?" he asked calmly. Kagura nodded slowly. Xemnas let out an amused laugh and let go of Kagura's chin. "Well, it's no matter to me. I cannot love, but you know that. But I find it amazing that you have the strength to do that, to give your life for another and then break that other's heart, just so that they will stay alive." His massive arms wrapped around her, but she stood straight as a board. "He will probably hate you forever if her ever gets over this, you know," he murmered. Kagura nodded stiffly.

"I know that. But I had to save him, I am well aware of what you are capable of," she said blankly. Xemnas smiled.

"And what is it that I am capable of, my dear?" he whispered. Kagura shivered.

OoC// Okay, I know what you're thinking, but no, he's not gonna...you know. He won't, either. I'm not that sort of person to write about those things. I just wanted to put an emphasis on the creepyness of the situation that Kagura is in. I also really like the scene in volume 11 of D.N.Angel when Risa wakes up to Argentine playing music. The scene stuck in my head and I reallized that it was just what I was looking for in this situation. The first time through, my idea was that Kagura would be tied to a spire in The World That Never Was and Xemnas would be angry. (Well, he can't really be angry, but work with me here.)//

After they had been gone for nearly two hours, Roxas deicded that something was wrong and everyone began to search. It took them another thirty minutes before they found Axel, curled into a dejected ball next to Kagura's sword. Roxas knew there was something seriously wrong when he noticed the tears streaming from Axel's green eyes. "Leave," he said, turning to the group behind him. They nodded and slipped away, leaving Roxas alone with Axel. Axel was barely aware when Roxas' black and red shoes came into his teary vision. Roxas' face swam into view, his face worried. "Axel, what's the matter? Where's Kagura?" Axel's green eyes darted to Roxas' blue ones and he slowly dragged himself up. His eyes were red from crying.

"She's gone..." he said, his voice husky from tears and disuse. "Xemnas came, and she left. She said..." he trailed off. "She said that I was trying to control her, that...she just wanted to get away from me." His head sank into his hands and his shoulders began to shake. Roxas laughed, louder and louder, until he was on the ground shaking. Axel looked up at his friend, stunned. When Roxas had recovered enough for him to speak, he glanced at Axel, bemused.

"You really believed that? You believed it? You are such an idiot!" He stood up, pulling Axel with him. "That girl loved you! Let me guess, when she said it, Xemnas had you hostage?" His blue eyes sparkled with amusement. Axel nodded slowly, not comprehending. Roxas laughed again. "You sse? There's your proof. She said that to make you think that she didn't love you so that you wouldn't go after her. I'm surprised she didn't come up with something more creative, lie being allergic to you or something..." he trailed off, thinking.

"So...that means, she was trying to save me?" Axel asked slowly. Roxas nodded and Axel's face evolved into a huge smile. He threw his arms around Roxas. When he was finished hugging him, however, Axel's face was serious. "Now, we gotta get Earth ready for Xemnas's invasion!" Roxas glanced at Axel, suspicious.

"What about Kagura? What about Xemnas?" he asked cautiously. Axel laughed.

"I think Kagura will take care of him," he said, striding off towards First District.


	8. Attachment

Lucky XIII: Chapter VIII:

'Attatchment'

Notes: This chapter will skip from group to group...so it might be a little confusing. This is where the dividers become very useful. XD Okay, so now I've put myself in. I couldn't help it! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!

Roxas slammed the door as he walked into the house, his blonde hair plastered against his face by the rain that was pouring outside. Demyx stopped playing his sitar and Kyle looked up.

"How's Kagura?" he asked, walking up to the older boy. Roxas just shook his head and collapsed onto the worn couch.

"She's been kidnapped..." he said, putting his head into his hands. Demyx stood up, fright in his eyes.

"I-is it...Xemnas?" he asked, his sitar disappearing in a shower of bubbles. Roxas nodded. Demyx warped, going to fetch the others. Kyle stepped forward, grasping the arm of the couch.

"How?" he asked, his eyes furious. Roxas looked up and laughed bitterly.

"Xemnas cornered Axel and Kagura when they were alone. He found out that Axel was her weakness and held him hostage. She went with Xemnas to save Axel," he said, watching with amazement as Kyle's fury dissolved into bemusement.

"You see? That's just her. Fighting to the death, then just giving up because others are in danger..." he trailed off, staring out of the window. He turned to Roxas and flashed him a half-baked smile. "She'll take care of herself...she always does."

Sora glanced worriedly at Axel. The red-haired man obsessed over everything now that Kagura was gone. Barely hidden fury was behind his emerald eyes at all times. Sora wondered if he was like that when Saix had kidnapped Kairi. He knew he wasn't, which made him wonder: was Axel a better friend than him? Did this mean that Sora really didn't love Kairi? He was thinking these thoughts on the front steps of Merlin's house when Yuffie whacked him on the head with her shruikan.

"Yoi, Spike! Get up and help!" she said irratably. Sora laughed inwardly. Everyone had become more irate after Kagura had been kidnapped. Some for Kagura's sake and some because Xemnas could take total control of everything if he took over Earth. Sora stood up and shuffled into Merlin's house. Several tables had been moved in, all of Merlin's stuff shoved into a corner. This was their military base now. Sora recognized Axel's flame red mane of hair and wasn't surprised. Axel was one of the biggest strategists they had. As Sora flopped into a chair, Axel looked up, his eyes blazing.

"We've had news."

Kagura had only been to four rooms in the castle. The room she had woken up in, the bathroom, the piano room, and the room she was in now. Just like all the other rooms, it was stark white and had little furnishings. There was a small white table, a white chair, and a notebook on the table. Kagura sat in the chair, her black dress making her skin look pale. And maybe it was. She was cold and the last meal she had had was Cid's Bellyfull Stew. She clutched the stuffed Stitch Axel had given her to her chest. There was a soft noise and Kagura looked up to see Xemnas stepping into the room, a tray of food in his hand. With a wave of his hand, another white chair appeared, opposite her on the white table. Xemnas set the tray in front of her. A cup of iced jasmine tea, her favorite drink, and beef gyoza were placed on immaculate white plates. A pair of glass chopsticks were laid carefully over a small bowl of soy sauce. Xemnas was looking at her from across the table expectantly.

"What?" Kagura asked. Xemnas smiled.

"You are beautiful." Kagura frowned.

"Gross," was her reply. She turned to her food, eating delicatley.

"I do not think you will be that way after I have conquered Earth..." he said, his face passive. Kagura heard him, but continued to eat. That suited Xemnas just fine, he continued talking. "When I have crushed that red-haired pest in your face..." The chopsticks broke. Glass shattered everywhere, along with Kagura's blood. She sat, her hands hanging loosely at her sides, letting the blood drip onto the floor. Tiny pools of red began to form. Xemnas sighed. "Now, now, dear heart. You shouldn't be self-destructive." He frowned as he withdrew a black hankerchief from his cloak and wiped up the blood on the floor. It was only then that Kagura noticed that he was wearing a different cloak. It was the white one wth black symbols that he had worn in the final battle of Kingdom Hearts II.

"You...why didn't you fade?" she asked. Xemnas smiled.

"I did," he said, standing up. With a wave of his hand, a Dusk appeared and took the handkercheif from him. Kagura frowned.

"Then why are you here?" she asked. Xemnas sighed.

"I honestly don't know. All I know is that when I reappeared, I reawoke here. For a while, I didn't have the strength to do much. The Nobodies ignored me. I built my strength to what it is now." He placed his hands in her hair. "And now, I will go to Earth and find out why it is that the others reappeared there and got their hearts back." Kagura frowned.

"Maybe..." she said cautiously, what she was about to say may get her killed. "Maybe you never had a heart at all. At least, not a real one." Xemnas looked at her, his face unreadable. She took that as permission to continue. "When I played Kingdom Hearts II, I had a theory. You see, Kingdom Hearts III was supposed to be something about a keyblade war and the memories of Xehanort." She felt him flinch at the name. "I thought that maybe, your heart was manufactured, much like Vexen's Riku Replica." Xemnas laughed softly and kissed her hair.

"Enough of this. Come with me," he said, pulling her from the white chair. She followed obediantly, padding softly in her bare feet. He lead her back to the piano room and sat down, indicating for her to sit next to him. "Sing," he said. Kagura nodded, knowing just the song to sing.

Sunbeam stop tugging me

Pull that door shut quietly

Darling what are you doing?

We don't have time for this

Crazy? Well, what are you then?

Give me an hour and I'll give you your dream

Don't make a soud

Shh and listen

Keep your head down

We're not safe yet

Don't make a sound and be good for me

'Cause I know they're waiting somewhere out here

Leave it

I won't go back

We have to do it 'cause there's nothing left here

Don't care, what do they know?

I've seen it baby and I know it's real

Showtime

I knew they'd come

Woa, are we having fun or what, yeah?

Don't make a sound

Shh and listen

Keep your head down

We're not safe yet

Don't make a sound and be good for me

'Cause I know they're waiting somewhere out here.

I feel good all over

I feel good all over

I feel good all over

Wear your inside out.

When she finished, Xemnas smiled. "Oh, how fitting that song was" Kagura nodded.

They all gathered in the game room, the only place where they could all have a place to sit at the same time. Strangely enough, Demyx was the one who had all of them gathered. They had all listened to the desperation in his voice and reallized that they had a real catastrophe on their hands. Once they had all gathered, Demyx had sat down to let Roxas take the floor. Roxas stood there, silent for a minute. Then: "Kagura's been kidnapped." The reaction was explosive. Saix's eyes widened, and he warped out of the room. They all heard the crashes that had come from his room. Zexion's hands gripped his glass so hard his knuckles turned white. Lexaeus actually broke his glass. Larxene grabbed Demyx by the coat and flung him against the wall.

"Why didn't you tell me this when you told me to come here?" she questioned. Demyx glared at her.

"Because I knew you'd act like this. And because Roxas has more to say," he punched her in the face. All the members in the room stopped with shock. Larxene had dropped Demyx and was holding her face in her hands. Demyx glared at her. "Don't you dare think you are the only one present who cares about her!" Demyx's voice was uncharacteristically fierce. He returned to his seat and turned his glance back to Roxas. The room was silent until Saix came back. He noticed Larxene's black eye and laughed bitterly.

"It seems we all became more attached than we should have..." he muttered, running a hand through his blue hair. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes. That is really ex post facto at the moment..." he muttered. OoC// Ms. Curran, look at this vocab word!// He sighed, collapsing onto the chair deflatedly.

"Roxas, you had something to say...?" Zexion asked, his eyes glittering with what must have been concern. Roxas smiled weakly.

"Yes. Thank you, Zexion." Roxas stood back up, his face set hard. "As you have been informed, Kagura has been kidnapped." He held a hand up to stop the objections beginning to sound in the room. "She was at Traverse Town, at her party." Saix looked up curiously.

"Did she get her gifts?" he asked. Roxas nodded.

"And she used yours, Saix. She was using it actually really well until Xemnas found out that her weakness was Axel. Then she stopped to let Axel live." Roxas' voice was grave. "We have no idea wherre she is, only that she is with Xemnas. Obviously, Xemnas did not fade. Or, maybe he did something similar to what happened to us." Marluxia rolled his eyes.

"But we don't have the slightest clue what happened to us!" he stated, exasperated. Xigbar nodded.

"Yeah. And that's why Roxas' idea works, man," he said, smiling slightly. Larxene crossed her arms.

"What good is sitting here arguing over something as pointless as this?" she asked. Xigbar's smile widened.

"I'm a scientist, girl. Stuff like that's important to me," he said. Vexen rolled his eyes.

"Oh, please. You're no scientist. All you ever did in your past life was screw around with the children while Ienzo, Elaeus, and I did the work." Vexen snorted. Xigbar's smile drooped a little.

"Off-TOPIC!" Larxene shrieked. "Or have you already forgotten that Kagura was kidnapped?" Twelve set of angry eyes glared at her. "Uhm...I'll just s-sit down now...heh..." she muttered, sinking low into her chair. Roxas cleared his throat.

"Anyway..." he said, glaring at all of them. "We've had information that Xemnas means to invade Earth. When I say invade, I mean a whole army of Dusks and Light knows what else lined up, ready to mutilate all in their path." Roxas grimaced. "We have reason to believe that Xemnas is going to use Kagura to open the barrier between worlds somehow." The others began to protest. Roxas glared. "I DON'T KNOW HOW! NOW SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" The room became silent. "Now," Roxas began, "we're pretty much the only protection this world has from the Nobodies. By the time the military has decided that we're not all insane, half the world will be destroyed. So, we've gotta plan where we wait and how we'll fight Xemnas!" His fist banged into the table.

"Roxas says that the barrier is thinnest in a place called Green Mountain Falls, Colorado." Axel said, his eyes burning. Sora's brown eyebrow raised slightly.

"And...where is this place, again?" Sora asked. The redhead smacked himself on the forhead.

"I'm sorry, I forgot you never spent time on Earth..." he muttered. "It's a tiny little hamlet in a country called The United States Of America," he said. Riku sniggered and leaned over to whisper to Sora.

"Do you think they're compensating for something?" he asked. OoC//Little does Riku know that he just quoted something from Shrek!//

Axel glared at the two. "So, Roxas will gather the others and guard the place until Xemnas attacks by breaking the barrier. It is our job to rush in after the barrier has been broken and help them." He glanced at Kairi. "And I have an idea..."

Kagura laid quietly on the bed, clutching the stuffed Stitch closely to her chest. The black blankets were warm and comfortable, but she couldn't sleep. All she could think of was the look of pain on Axel's face as she left with Xemnas. But she didn't cry. She was no longer capable of crying. She knew that she had done what she had to do, and that made her feel much better. Her grey eyes closed and she allowed herself one small smile. Then she heard a scuffle of sandles in the hallway. She sat up, curious. Who on Earth would it be? Xemnas wore boots and he didn't scuffle. Kagura jumped quetly out of the bed, shivering as her feet touched the cold floor. With silent, light steps, Kagura flew to the door. She slipped down the hallway, looking behind her when, BAM! she ran into someone. Someone smaller than her. With platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Kagura crouched down, holding out a hand for the girl to take. The girl smiled and took Kagura's hand.

"Hello, my name is-"

"Namine."

Namine smiled. "So you do know me!" Her face lit up like a candle. Kagura smiled slightly.

"Yes, you were one of my favorite characters in the game!" Her grey eyes glittered with happiness, but it faded when she reallized where they were. "What're you doing here?" she asked. Namine's smile didn't falter.

"Kairi sent me," she said. Kagura nodded.

"And...why? It's not like you can rescue me or anything. No offense."

"None taken. Actually, they need you as a spy," Namine said, blushing slightly. Kagura grinned.

"Then it's a spy they'll get!"

Demyx sighed as he collapsed onto the bed in the small room he shared with Roxas. They had roomed in an old motel in Green Mountain Falls, waiting for Xemnas' attack. And although Demyx didn't mind the old green place he was staying in, he really missed Tokyo. The thirteen of them had gotten very strange looks at the Denver airport. (He hated that place, it was creepy and it smelled funny) Aparently, it was not normal for people to have blue hair or eyepatches. And Demyx's mullet had been insulted many times. Flopping onto his side, Demyx groaned. There was nothing to do! All the others had left, doing some chore or another, and he had been left behind. 'To keep a watch out' they had said. Demyx looked out his window at the trail just across the road.

"Hmm...well, I might as well!" he said, jumping off the bed and running out the door. He flew across the street and through a large patch of weeds before tripping and falling onto the gravel that marked the trail. He laughed and pulled himself up, ignoring the blood oozing from the scrape on his cheek. "Oh! A creek!" he said, noticing the tiny stream of water trickling past. He carefully made his way down, almost tripping on a tree root, to the water. It was extremely shallow, only about an inch deep, and the bottom was all smooth gravel. Demyx shrugged and pulled his boots off, throwing his feet in the water. Sighing contentedly, he raised his hand, summoning his sitar. In a burst of bubbles, it appeared and he began to tune it. Each time he plucked the strings, the water of the creek shivered, as if anticipating his control of it. He smiled broadly.

His sitar tuned, Demyx began to play. It was just a random melody that popped into his head, coming to him without thinking. The current of the water stopped, then began to sway back and forth in time to the song. Demyx heard a snap of something and a distant voice swear. He immediately stopped playing, and the water (albeit dissappointedly) began to follow its old current. There was the sound of someone moving through water and a few more snaps before a girl burst into Demyx's view. She was younger than him, about fourteen, with brown hair that sweeped her shoulderblades and slanted hazel eyes framed by slightly crooked glasses. She wore a hoodie with some sort of symbol on it and a pair of capris that were wet up to her knees. She stood in the creek, the water rushing over her bare toes.

"Who're you?" she asked. "And why do you look so much like Demyx?" Her hands found her hips and Demyx noticed that she was wearing six bracelets on her right arm.

"Why have you got so many bracelets on your arm?" he asked, pointing to her hand. The girl sighed.

"Because I have a Final Fantasy-like habit of over-accessorizing," she said, her eyebrows slanting into a 'V'. "You didn't answer my question." Demyx laughed.

"Well, I'd tell you, but you wouldn't believe me!" he said. The girl's eyes rolled.

"Let me guess...crazy cosplaying vampire? The grim reaper? C'mon, I think I can handle whatever it is that you have to say." Demyx grinned.

"Alright, then. I am Demyx." The girl's jaw dropped.

"As in...Organization XIII, Demyx?" she asked. Demyx nodded. "So...care to give me proof?" she asked. Demyx laughed again. He pulled his sitar back into his lap. He began to play the tune he was playing before. The water current stopped again, and this time Demyx bade the water to lift into the air and twist around, reflecting the sunlight across the trees. The girl was captivated. Demyx smiled and kept playing. He was quite surprised when the girl, who had a very low voice for a girl, began to sing.

You're giving me too many things lately

You're all I need

You smiled at me and said,

Don't get me wrong, I love you

But does that mean I have to meet your father?

When we are older you'll understand what I meant when I said,

No, I don't think life is quite that simple

When you walk away

You don' t hear me say

Please

Oh baby, don't go

Simple and Clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let it go

Demyx's brow arched, "You came up with that yourself?" he asked. She laughed and shook her head.

"Those are the words to the song, Melodious Nocturne." Demyx stiffened at his 'official' name. She laughed and flopped down next to him, her feet splashing water everywhere. "My name's Bethany. But I don't really like to be called that. Call me Snitch or Tokyo," she said, hands fiddling with a rock on the creekbed. Demyx arched an eyebrow.

"Tokyo...?" he asked. Bethany grinned.

"Yup. My friends and I...we decided to call each other by the names of cities. Mine's Tokyo!" she poked Demyx. "So...you really are Demyx, IX, the Melodious Nocturne?" Her face had taken a new expression, something like admiration. It made Demyx feel uncomfortable.

"Well, yeah," was the response.

"What're ya doing here?" Demyx laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well..." He told the story, all the way through, Snitch listening to every word. When he told her of Xemnas' plan to attack Earth, she grinned.

"I don't know much about figthing or magic, but count me in!" she said, her face full of glee. Demyx glanced at her with bemusement.

"Why?" he asked. Bethany smiled and stood up.

"Well, because...I always wished Kingdom Hearts would be true, ya know?" She carefully crossed the creek and began to climb into the gnarled branches of a tree. "So now that I know it is real...I want to help in whatever way I can!" She began to blush. "And I was hoping that you'd teach me magic if you could..." Demyx grinned.

"Well, I'll teach you, but first let me go back to the hotel we're staying in and check to see if the others are there," he said, standing and pulling his boots on. Snitch dropped from the tree and landed next to Demyx.

"C'mon, let's go!"


End file.
